By Daniel Gonzalez

Deontay Wilder Lands Bomb in the 7th En Route to Spectacular KO of Luis Ortiz in Vegas:

Las Vegas – All those in attendance at the MGM Grand Garden Arena and those tuning in on Fox Sports’ Pay-Per-View, all witnessed one of the hardest hitting punchers in heavyweight history once again close the show in spectacular fashion. After being outboxed Luis “King King” Ortiz, (31-2, 26 KOs, 2 NC) for 6 rounds and being down on the scorecards, Deontay “The Bronze Bomber“ Wilder (42-0-1, 41 KOs) landed a “bomb” that ended the highly anticipated rematch at 2:51 of the 7th round. Judges Eric Cheek (58-56), Dave Moretti (59-55) and Steve Weisfeld (59-55) all had Ortiz ahead on the scorecards, but the Alabama natives one punch power caused the Cuban southpaw to crumble to the canvas and under the ropes. Ortiz did his best to orient himself and get on his feet, but Kenny Bayless reached the count of 10 prior to him being about to clear his head.

The 40 year old Ortiz clearly controlled the fight during the first six rounds. He came into the fight in tremendous shape, weighing 5 pounds less than he did in their first match up and looking lean and ready. In the early rounds, Ortiz controlled the distance and countered punched brilliantly. He consistently was able to land the straight right hand both to the head and body of Wilder, but he did not manage to hurt the WBC Champion. Alternatively, it appeared that Wilder was trying to simply looking for a chance to land his stick of dynamite, which he eventually did in dramatic fashion.

Although the flashy and sometimes arrogant Wilder has flaws in his boxing skill, he consistently puts on amazing performances. He is a polished smack talker and has both the physical and star power to back it up. The 34 year old currently has a 97% knockout percentage and three potential opponents in the heavyweight division, with whom he could potentially make the biggest fights of 2020. The rematch with the equally intriguing Englishman Tyson Fury is already under contract, and a unification bout between the winner of Anthony Joshua and Andy Ruiz could all be possible for next year. If Wilder is able to dispose of his competition as he did Ortiz, it will be hard to deny his place in American heavyweight boxing history.

I am not sure about you guys, but each time I watch a Deontay Wilder fight, I count him out. Due to his lack of traditional boxing skills, I seem to believe that a skilled heavyweight will have his way with him, as both Luis Ortiz and Tyson Fury have had in the majority of rounds they were in the ring with him. Then “bombs” away and he unleashes that right hand. I then wonder whether I am witnessing the most powerful puncher in heavyweight boxing history. There is no doubt that a case will be made for the Bronze Bomber if he is able to unify the heavyweight division in the near future.

Daniel Gonzalez is a Senior Boxing Writer. Dan writes for many publications including Boxing Action Magazine, www.BoxingAction24.com and www.SideStepBoxing.com

Photos courtesy of Stephanie Trapp & Ryan Hafey – PBC