‘Tis the season for heavyweight title rematches.
Before Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz duke it out for a second time on December 7 in Saudi Arabia, heavyweights Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz will look to reprise their dramatic tussle from last year in which Wilder rallied to stop Ortiz in a 10th round. The fighters will vie for Wilder’s portion of the heavyweight crown Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
The stakes are high for Wilder. A successful defense will trigger a reported rematch clause with Tyson Fury for next year on pay-per-view. As for the Cuban Ortiz, a win will redeem a lifetime of endless toiling in boxing backwaters and make him one of the rare quadragenarians to win a heavyweight title.
Here is a break down of the fight.
DEONTAY WILDER (41-0-1, 40 KOs)
VS. LUIS ORTIZ (31-1-0, 26 KOs)
Date: Saturday, November 23
Location: MGM Grand, Las Vegas
TV: Fox PPV
Division: Heavyweight
At stake: Wilder’s WBC title
Current win streak: Wilder, 1; Ortiz, 3
Ages: Wilder, 34; Ortiz, 40
Stances: Wilder orthodox; Ortiz southpaw
Trajectory: Wilder at peak; Ortiz declining
Also fighting: Leo Santa Cruz vs. Miguel Flores, junior lightweights; Luis Nery vs. Emmanuel Rodriguez, bantamweights; Brandon Figueroa vs. Julio Ceja, junior featherweights; Leduan Barthelemy vs. Eduardo Ramirez, junior lightweights.
Worth watching (up to five stars)? * * * *
SKILL SET
Wilder
Gone are the days when one could share in a hearty chuckle with the boxing peanut gallery over Wilder’s rudimentary skill set, windmill punches and whatnot. A big reason for that, of course, is his KO win over Ortiz last year. That Wilder was able to blow out the most skilled big man today – outside of Tyson Fury – made any subsequent criticism of his gawky style feel more like quibbling than anything else. It’s true that his power covers up his various technical deficiencies but Wilder, in fact, fights with an underrated sense of tact. He shoots his vaunted bazooka right precisely behind his long jab with virtually no tell. Wilder clearly knows what he’s doing. It may be simple, but as he’s proven, it is very, very effective.
Ortiz
Ortiz hails from the so-called Cuban amateur school of boxing. And while it it isn’t known to produce fan-friendly styles, virtually all of its alumni graduate with a doctorate in the hard fundamentals of the “sweet science.” Ortiz gave Wilder fits in the last fight, as he worked behind his right jab, which neutralized Wilder’s, while digging straight lefts to the body. There is a reason Ortiz has been avoided for so long. Ortiz can outbox Wilder. The question is whether he can keep that up for 12 rounds.
Edge: Ortiz
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PUNCHING POWER
Wilder
What else needs to be said? Only Bermane Stiverne (in the first fight) and Fury (by the slightest of margins) have heard the final bell against Wilder. Wilder’s power is such that a granite chin isn’t exactly the answer either. (You don’t want to brag that you withstood a slew of those skull-bashing right hands). You’re best shot might be to avoid getting hit in the first place.
Ortiz
In any other matchup we would be talking about Ortiz’s considerable power, the Cuban having notched 26 stoppages in 32 fights, albeit mainly against stiffs. Even so, he had Wilder hurt in that pivotal seventh round of the first fight. Ortiz can crack and there’s no doubt that should he get close enough to unload his own mean straight left, Wilder will be in a world of trouble.
Edge: Wilder
EXPERIENCE
Wilder
It wasn’t until he was 20 years old that Wilder donned a pair of boxing gloves. Up until then he had played football and basketball his whole life. Despite the late start and limited amateur experience, Wilder was able to barnstorm his way to the 2008 Olympics. When he turned professional three months later, Wilder was still very much a work in progress. Not surprisingly, he was moved cautiously by his handlers early on. After feasting on no-hopers for the majority of his title defenses, Wilder has stepped up the competition a few notches in the past year and a half.
Ortiz
Like many of his Cuban brethren, Ortiz has an astronomical number of amateur fights under his belt, perhaps in excess of 400, according to reports. He has faced every style imaginable. But the amateur ranks do not prepare you for unadulterated power like Wilder’s.
Edge: Ortiz
DURABILITY
Wilder
By blowing out most of his low opposition, Wilder has avoided sustaining too much punishment throughout his career. Moreover, he proved he had a solid chin when he was able to survive Ortiz’s onslaught in that seventh round. Wilder isn’t as heavy as some of his heavyweight peers, such as Tyson Fury, who outweighed him by nearly 30 pounds in their fight, but any discrepancy in size is clearly shored up by his superlative power and length.
Ortiz
At this point, Ortiz’s worst enemy, aside from Wilder’s right, may be himself. At 40, Ortiz is far from his physical prime. Eventually, the toll of one rigorous training camp after another and the collective punishment incurred in the ring eventually find their way to the ring. Recent pictures show Ortiz in chiseled form, but one wonders at what expense. Stamina has been something of an issue for Ortiz. He emptied the tank in that hellacious Round 7, battering Wilder from pillar to post, but he couldn’t quite finish the job. In his last fight against mediocre Christian Hammer, Ortiz looked flat and seemed fatigued in the late rounds.
Edge: Wilder
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INTANGIBLES
Wilder
It comes down to the reflexes and the fact that the man who has the quicker synapses also possesses brutish punching power. When Wilder hurts his opponents, he genuinely looks to finish them off. Wilder may also have a psychological advantage over Ortiz, given that he knows he can take Ortiz’s best shot, while Ortiz could not take Wilder’s. Also, Wilder may not be one of Las Vegas’ “house fighters” in the way that Manny Pacquiao and Canelo Alvarez are, but this is still effectively a home game for him.
Ortiz
Ortiz will go into the fight in perhaps the best shape he has ever been, at least according to his trainer Herman Caicedo. And, indeed, he looked trim at the final press conference on Wednesday. Caicedo says his charge was not even in “sparring shape” for the first fight.
Edge: Wilder
PREDICTION
Expect the rematch to begin a lot like the first fight did, with Ortiz outworking Wilder early on, jabbing his way forward and mixing in left hands to the body. Look for Ortiz to line up Wilder for his left by continually forcing him to his right. Meanwhile, Wilder will bide his time trying to spot the first glimmer of an opening before he pulls the trigger on his explosive right. Ortiz will have to bridge the gap in order to land his power shots, and at some point, Wilder will take advantage of Ortiz’s temerity.
Wilder TKO 7