Deontay Wilder defended his WBC heavyweight championship for the 10th time on Saturday night in Las Vegas against Luis Ortiz, who he knocked out previously in the 10th round of their first meeting in March 2018.
This time around, Wilder ended things in the seventh round of a fight he had otherwise been almost totally inactive in. Wilder was trailing on all three scorecards entering the seventh round, with two judges having it 59-55 Ortiz through six and the other at 58-56 Ortiz. Wilder, apparently, was just biding his time until he could unleash his right hand for a knockout blow.
As the timekeeper cracked three times to signal 10 seconds to go in the seventh round, Wilder felt out with a left jab to size up Ortiz and gather his distance, letting fly a straight right hand that landed square on the head of Ortiz, resulting in a plume of sweat exploding off his face and the big Cuban tumbled backwards to the canvas.
Wilder calmly strode away from Ortiz, having delivered on his eternal promise to end fights early. He’s far from a workrate marvel, but he doesn’t need to be, because more than any other boxer on the planet right now, all Wilder needs is one punch. Ortiz, once again, learned that lesson the hard way. Now, another rematch figures to be on the cards next for Wilder against lineal champ Tyson Fury, who is the only man to force a draw in a bout with Deontay.
