The most explosive puncher in boxing will be showcased this weekend when Deontay Wilder defends his WBC heavyweight championship against dangerous Luis Ortiz in Las Vegas in the early hours of Sunday morning.
Wilder, with an astonishing 40 knockouts in 41 wins, will face a man who almost beat him 18 months ago. In their first fight, Ortiz rocked Wilder in the seventh, but the champion roared back to force a stoppage in typically dramatic fashion.
In the interim, Wilder burnished his reputation with a war against Tyson Fury and a blowout of Dominic Brezeale. Ortiz himself scored three solid wins, but more notable has been his trimming down and getting into the shape of his life for the rematch.
It’s a high-risk challenge for American Wilder, not least because his big-money rematch with Fury in February will likely implode in the event of him losing to Ortiz.
Even by heavyweight standards, Ortiz is a big man whose southpaw style and heavy hands make him a difficult proposition for any of the elite heavyweights.
Said Wilder: “Luis Ortiz is a smart fighter, he moves strategically in the ring, he’s a great counter-puncher as well. I like his style as a Cuban. Nobody in the top 10 wanted to fight Ortiz and they still don’t ‘til this day. But I’m giving him the opportunity and we about to do it again.”
Ortiz believes he will be facing a better fighter than the one he fought last March.
“When you watch videos online from Wilder, there are definitely things he does better now. But he still doesn’t have the experience of taking that from training into the fight. He’s got to have a plan B and C. If he doesn’t, it will be a mistake. I have a plan for everything. This fight is personal because I want to erase the loss and that thorn in my side.”
