LAS VEGAS – No matter what he might lack as a fighter. No matter what might go wrong in the ring. Deontay Wilder always has his right hand.
Wilder showed next to nothing in his rematch with Luis Ortiz on Saturday night at the MGM Grand. Ortiz, obviously quicker and more mobile after his intense conditioning program, had firm control of the fight for five-plus rounds.
The Cuban beat the American titleholder to the punch. He outworked him, although neither threw a lot of punches. All Wilder did was wait and wait … and wait, as he seemed to have no plan of action in a fight that was becoming mistifying.
Then, in an instant, order was restored. In the final seconds of Round 7, Wilder landed that magic straight right on Ortiz’s face and the challenger fell flat on his back, obviously hurt badly.
Ortiz stumbled to his feet around the count of 9 but referee Kenny Bayless, looking into his eyes, decided he couldn’t continue.
Just like that, Wilder turned what was shaping up to be an embarrassing loss into another dramatic victory. It was the 10th successful defense of the title Wilder won when he outpointed Bermane Stiverne in 2015.
Ortiz (31-2, 26 knockouts) didn’t fight brilliantly early in the fight but he was a lot more effective than Wilder, who was cautious to the point where he did almost nothing. Meanwhile, Ortiz popped Wilder to the body. The southpaw landed some hard lefts that must of frightened Wilder supporters. And a few combinations got the attention of Wilder and the crowd.
In Round 4, Ortiz unloaded a flurry of punches that found their mark. Wilder responded by pounding his chest, which raised the question: Why isn’t he pounding Ortiz?
By Round 6, the scorecards had become a big part of the story. Ortiz seemed to be doing enough to win round after round, meaning that it would be difficult for Wilder to win a decision in the event he wasn’t able to stop Ortiz.
And sure enough: The scores were 59-55, 59-55 and 58-56, all in Ortiz’s favor.
Wilder fought with a bit more urgency in Round 6, throwing more meaningful punches than he had earlier, but no one expected what was to come. He simply positioned himself at arm’s length from Ortiz and let his not-so-secret weapon fly. It slid past Ortiz’s glove, landed on his face and that was that.
“Bomb squad!” indeed.
“With Ortiz, you can see why no other heavyweight wants to fight him,” Wilder said afterward. “He’s very craft, he moves strategically and his intellect is very high. I had to measure him in certain places.
“I had to go in and out and finally I found my measurement. I saw the shot and I took it. My intellect is very high in the ring and no one gives me credit for that. I think I buzzed him with a left hook earlier in the round and I took it from there.”
Ortiz gave Wilder trouble – hurting him badly in Round 7 – but was stopped by Wilder in the 10th round in March of last year. He blamed the stoppage on fatigue. So he did the natural thing: He trained as seriously as he ever had. That included hiring a strength and conditioning coach who helped him weigh in about five pounds lighter than he weighed in the first fight.
And it seemed to help. Ortiz was quick and mobile, particularly for a 40-year-old who is naturally bulky. However, in the end, such things don’t matter when a right hand from Wilder finds its target.
Ortiz was philosophical afterward.
“This is boxing,” he said. “I said that one of us was going to get knocked out and it wasn’t going to go 12 rounds. I was clear headed when I hit the canvas. When I heard the referee say seven I was trying to get up, but I guess the count went a little quicker than I thought.”
Wilder appears to have another significant challenge ahead of him. He is tentatively scheduled to face arguably the best boxer in the division, Tyson Fury, in February.
Fury also felt the power in Wilder’s right hand, going down in Rounds 9 and 12. Fans are still shaking their heads at Fury’s ability to survive the knockdown punch in the final round and reach the final bell.
Aside from the knockdowns, however, Fury outboxed Wilder. That’s why most observers thought Wilder was fortunate to emerge with a draw.
The fact Wilder was willing to tangle a second time with Ortiz and seems eager to meet Fury again is evidence that he has confidence to go with his punching power. After Fury? He evidently wants the winner of the December 7 Andy Ruiz Jr.-Anthony Joshua rematch.
“Next we have Tyson Fury in the rematch,” he said. “It’s scheduled for February, so we’ll see. Then I want unification. I want one champion, one face and one heavyweight champion – Deontay Wilder.”
