Saturday night, WBC heavyweight world champion Deontay Wilder put his title on the line against undefeated challenger Luis Ortiz at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. Ortiz was considered by many to be Wilder’s greatest challenge to date, and some felt Ortiz had what it takes to dethrone the reigning WBC title holder.
Ortiz started the bout well, and he appeared to be outboxing Wilder in the early going. Ortiz was patiently maneuvering his position, and working behind his jab. Wilder had difficulty finding a rhythm with his own jab early on, and the two boxers did a lot of feinting and posturing as they were both looking for openings while showing a high level of mutual respect for one another. The intensity level was sky high, and Ortiz was doing well through the first four and a half round.
But in round 5, Wilder dropped Ortiz with a crisp right hand and he seized the momentum. Wilder was then in control, and he was doing well, until a couple of good right hooks and a nice left hand from Ortiz rocked him. Ortiz had Wilder in trouble, and he unloaded a slew of power shots, many of which found their target and landed on the button. But Wilder persevered, despite losing the momentum.
Wilder regained command of the fight in round 10 after Ortiz and Wilder simultaneously hurt one another, but Wilder was more alert and quicker to pounce. Wilder soon had Ortiz down again for the second time. Ortiz tried battling on bravely, but it was too late at this point. Wilder dropped him for the third and final time, and the fight was over. It was a 10th round stoppage victory for Wilder, and this marks 7 consecutive title defenses for the American world champion.
This edition of Rummy’s Corner provides an abbreviated post fight recap with thoughts on Wilder’s impressive display of explosive raw power. Please watch and enjoy the video!
