Deontay Wilder survives huge scare to stop Luis Ortiz on this day in 2018
On this day in 2018, Deontay Wilder showed incredible resilience when he knocked out Luis Ortiz in New York.
‘The Bronze Bomber’ made the seventh successful defence of his WBC heavyweight title with a tenth-round technical knockout win over the relatively unknown Ortiz.
But it was nearly unlucky number seven for Wilder as he survived a huge scare in the seventh round before rallying to knock out the Cuban in front of a crowd of 14,000 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
The title challenger refused to back down without a fight, landing a devastating flurry of punches that had the champion in serious trouble.
Unfortunately for Ortiz, Wilder was saved by the bell, before he detonated that huge bomb of a right hand to shake off the cobwebs.
In the tenth round, he landed a right-left combination that dropped the Cuban then unleashed an absolute corker of a right uppercut to record his 39th win inside the distance.
Speaking after the fight, Wilder said: “A true champion always finds a way to come back, and that’s what I did tonight.
“Luis Ortiz is definitely a crafty guy. He put up a great fight. We knew we had to wear him down.
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“I showed everyone I can take a punch. When Ortiz leaves tonight, he can hold his head high. He gave the fans a hell of a fight.”
“He was hitting me with those furious punches, throwing combos that knocked me off balance.
“I just had to get my range back and my fundamentals back and I was able to do that.
“I showed I was a true champion tonight. Ortiz was one of those fighters that everyone ducked, even champions ducked him. I wondered why it took so long for him to get a title shot and now we know.”
Ortiz, meanwhile, could only shake his head in disbelief as he wondered