Heavyweight champ Wilder wins rematch, sets up another vs. Fury

One rematch down, one to go for Deontay Wilder.

Wilder landed a vicious right hand to stop Luis Ortiz in the seventh round Saturday night in Las Vegas to retain his heavyweight title and set up a lucrative rematch with Tyson Fury in February.

Wilder’s punch came out of nowhere in a fight he had done little in up until that time. It landed flush on the face of Ortiz, who crumpled to the canvas and was unable to get up at the count of 10.

The sudden ending came after a lackluster first six rounds in which Wilder (42-0-1, 41 knockouts) did little. But the devastating power came through again.

“I finally found my measurement, and I took the shot,” Wilder said. “I had to play around with him. I had to calculate certain moves.”

The fight was a rematch of a bout last year when Wilder stopped Ortiz on the 10th. It set up a Feb. 23 fight against Fury that has already been signed.

Wilder fought cautiously for the first six rounds, finding himself in the hole on the cards of the three ringside judges. Two gave him just one of the six, while a third gave him two rounds. The Associated Press had Ortiz (31-2) pitching a shutout.

Wilder began to pick up the pace in the seventh round, then caught Ortiz with the right hand that brought the fight to an end at 2:51 of the round.

“My intellect is very high in the ring, and no one gives me credit,” Wilder said. “I think I buzzed him with a left hook earlier in the round, and I took it from there.”

Ortiz didn’t protest the ending but said he thought he beat the count.

“I was clearheaded when I hit the canvas,” he said.