Wilder survives pummeling to win

Deontay Wilder was out on his feet. Forget defending his WBC heavyweight title, Wilder was lucky to find his corner when the seventh round concluded.

About 10 minutes later, he was strutting around the Barclays Center ring in Brooklyn, his belt secure but his reputation as being untouchable severely tarnished. Wilder survived a pummeling from Luis Ortiz, then knocked out the challenger in the 10th round Saturday night to retain his crown. Befitting the undefeated champion, it was a wild affair for the final few rounds after a dull series of pawing and gesturing by Wilder gave Ortiz a solid lead. “A true champion always finds a way to come back and that’s what I did,” Wilder said.

Even after Wilder knocked down Ortiz in the fifth round, the bout remained in the Cuban’s favor. Then, in the seventh, Wilder was dazed by Ortiz’s assault. Though he never hit the canvas, he stumbled to his corner when that round ended. “I almost had him and I think I would’ve if there were a few more seconds in the round,” Ortiz said. “Wilder was definitely saved by the bell . ... But you have to give him credit, he weathered the storm.”

Wilder closed the ninth with two hard rights and a series of vicious combinations in the 10th started Ortiz’s downfall. It was over with 55 seconds to go in the 10th after Ortiz went down for the second time in the round from a right uppercut and referee David Fields stopped it.

Wilder, 32, is 40-0 with 39 knockouts. Somehow, he was ahead on all three judges’ scorecards. The Associated Press had it 86-83 for Ortiz heading into the 10th.

Ortiz, 38, is 28-1. He couldn’t have come much closer to becoming the first Cuban heavyweight belt holder.