Part two of the rivalry between Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz will take place this Saturday at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas. Once again, two fierce fighters, who are, by the way, respecting one another outside the ring a lot, will no doubt put up a thrilling show. Wilder is looking to make another title defense, and prove that he is a better fighter than the Cuban. On the other side, King Kong wants revenge. That scenario is highly unlikely according to the bookies, but nobody can guarantee that, especially in boxing.
Preview
Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KOs) is arguably the strongest puncher in the history of boxing. Even the old legends admit that. The Bronze Bomber wants his five minutes of glory and is aiming to get all other belts somehow and become the ruler of this sport. His ambitions are very high, but Wilder has everything needed to fulfill those goals. One-punch knockouts are his signature, and only two fights didn’t end like this since he became pro. Among them was the one against Tyson Fury, with whom he should meet in February next year. But in order to do so, the WBC champ needs to take care of this one. Wilder had one fight after the clash with Fury, against Dominic Breazeale in May this year. He knocked out the rival in the first round, displaying his ferocious power once again. Matches against Fury and Breazeale are the only ones Wilder had following the first battle with King Kong.
Ortiz (31-1, 26 KOs) had three of them, and winning in all of them. His opponents were Razvan cCojanu, Travis Kauffman, and Christan Hammer. The first two were concluded with knockouts. The Cuban is also known as an excellent striker, and he, too as Wilder, knows how to blitz the opponent and send him on the floor. Although the American didn’t fell down, he experienced the strength of Ortiz’s fist in the first matchup. Wilder barely survived round seven, after a heavy right hook. Do remember that he held the WBC heavyweight title, as the interim champion, and that he knows how to handle these types of situation.
Previous Fight
This contest took place at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, back on March 3, 2018. It was a match for the WBC title, which was in Wilder’s possession at the time. It was Bronze Bomber’s seventh title defense, and up until that point, the toughest one, as he had an undefeated opponent in front of him. Wilder sent Ortiz on the canvas in the fifth, but the Cuban responded in the seventh, once he shook the champ. The bell saved Wilder, who was also a bit soft at the start of the eighth, with his team asking for a medical timeout, giving him 20 seconds to recover. In the end, the Ameican knocked him out in the 10th round.
Prediction
The odds on Wilder’s win are too low, 0.18, and we will try to find something else. The American is the better fighter, and with all due respect towards Ortiz, simply we can’t see him winning this one. What we found is the offer for the round of the finish. The odds between the 4th and 6th periods are excellent, 2.05. Ortiz will probably be solid with his condition, but Wilder’s current power won’t allow for this contest to go to the distance. According to his words, he’s been training pretty hard over the recent few weeks, as was already started preparing for the second clash against Fury.
