Deontay Wilder promised to knockout Luis Ortiz and he followed through on his word at the MGM Grand on Saturday. In the 7th round, Wilder put Ortiz on the mat with that legendary right hand to seal the deal and retain his heavyweight belt.
“I saw the shot, and I took it,” Wilder said. “My intellect is very high in the ring, and no one gives me credit for it. I think I buzzed him with a left hook earlier in the round, and I took it from there.”
Ortiz fought well throughout the match and was even up on the scorecards before Wilder put him down. Now all roads lead to a rematch between Wilder and Tyson Fury scheduled for February 22.
The Alabama born fighter is now 42-0-1 (41 knockouts) with Fury being the one draw on his record. Prior to his draw with Fury, Wilder had been chasing Anthony Joshua who since lost his IBF, WBA, and WBO heavyweight belts to the Andy Ruiz Jr. in Joshua’s American debut. A rematch is scheduled for December 7.
Should Wilder beat Fury in February, it’ll likely set him up to fight the winner of the December 7 match between Ruiz and Joshua in a quest to unify the heavyweight belts.
