Mean Wilder
Deontay retains title with TKO of Ortiz in 10th
Deontay Wilder wanted to prove he’s the best heavyweight on the planet. After his performance against Luis “King Kong” Ortiz on Saturday night at Barclays Center, it would be hard to argue with him.
Wilder took some of the hardest punches the heavy-fisted Ortiz could deliver. But the native of Tuscaloosa, Ala., ultimately showed a determined heart and strong chin in scoring a 10th-round technical knockout over the Cuban challenger to retain his WBC heavyweight championship as a crowd of 14,069 roared its approval.
It was a fight that started slow but heated up in the middle rounds and was furious at the finish. Wilder, 40-0 with 39 knockouts, looked in serious trouble when he was battered and staggered by Ortiz in the seventh round. But the champion survived and thrived, turning the fight his way in the ninth and finishing it in the 10th with a barrage of punches a wilting Ortiz couldn’t withstand. Wilder now can further his campaign for a potential unification bout with Anthony Joshua, who fights Joseph Parker later this month.
“A true champion always finds a way to come back, and that’s what I did tonight,” Wilder said. “Luis Ortiz is definitely a crafty guy. He put up a great fight. We knew we had to wear him down. I showed everyone I can take a punch.”
It was a right uppercut to the chin that finally ruined the challenger, who was dropped once in the fifth and twice in the 10th. Wilder was ahead on all three judges’ cards 85-84 entering the 10th despite losing the seventh round 10-8 on all three cards. Ortiz, who lost for the first time in 29 fights, certainly had his moments but couldn’t drop Wilder.
“He walked through fire and he knocked the guy out,” promoter Lou DiBella said. “That’s what it’s all about.”
The two heavyweights originally were scheduled to fight in November, but Ortiz tested positive for a banned substance and was pulled for the card. After proving the positive test was caused by medication he was taking for high blood pressure, Ortiz got a second shot at Wilder.
After a cautious first three rounds in which neither fighter did much other than throw a few soft jabs, the action picked up in the fifth round, when Ortiz landed a hard right hand that caught Wilder’s attention. The champion responded with a right of his own that dropped Ortiz just before the bell sounded to end the fifth round.
Ortiz answered with a huge round in the seventh, landing hard punches that would have dropped most opponents. But a wobbly and dazed Wilder took Ortiz’s heavy leather and managed to survive until the bell.
From then on, the fight was brutal with both heavyweights exchanging heavy bombs. Ortiz landed his share of hard punches that seemingly had Wilder near his end. Then Wilder would respond, swinging lefts and rights, hoping to land something hard.
He finally did that in the 10th, a right hand landing flush on Ortiz’s chin, buckling the challenger’s legs. Wilder immediately pounced, throwing long, hard hooks that finally dropped Ortiz for the second time in the fight. Ortiz got up, but Wilder didn’t hesitate once the action resumed.
He smothered Ortiz with a barrage of punches before a devastating right uppercut smashed into Ortiz’s chin. Ortiz crumbled to the canvas, prompting referee David Fields to stop the fight.
It was a gallant performance by both fighters.
“I feel fine,” Ortiz said. “In the ring, anything can happen.”
Said Wilder: “I showed I’m a true champion.”
In the featured undercard bout, Jose Uzcategui of Mexico earned a ninth-round TKO over Andre Dirrell of Flint, Mich., for the interim IBF super middleweight championship.