By: William Holmes
The MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada was the host site for tonight’s Fox Sports Pay Per View Main Event between Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz.
The undercard featured a lot of close action-packed fights. The co-main event between Santa Cruz and Flores as well as the bout between Figueroa and Ceja featured a high volume of punches.
Luis Nery and Emmanuel Rodriguez were originally scheduled to fight on the undercard, but that bout was cancelled after Nery came in a pound overweight.
The Leo Santa Cruz fight didn’t end until 11:45 PM EST, which meant the main event didn’t start until after midnight. Luis Ortiz entered the ring first and Wilder entered second in an extravagant outfit to an entire arena standing on their feet.
Photo Credit: Premier Boxing Champions Twitter Account
The following is a round by round recap of the main event of the night.
Deontay Wilder (41-0-1) vs. Luis Ortiz (31-1); WBC Heavyweight Title
Round 1:
Wilder has the height and reach advantage over Ortiz. Both boxers appear to be a little cautious at first. Ortiz pressing forward but doesn’t pull the trigger yet. Wilder throws a lazy jab to the body. Ortiz throws a right hook to the body of Wilder, and Wilder answers with one of his own. Ortiz blocks two jabs from Wilder. Ortiz touches Wilder with a good straight left hand. Wilder misses with a straight right and Ortiz lands a jab in response. Wilder flicks out a short jab. Ortiz has a slight cut by his right eye. Ortiz straight left is blocked by Wilder. Not a lot of action in the first round, but Ortiz had the best punch of the round.
10-9 Ortiz
Round 2:
Ortiz throws out two jabs but misses. Wilder is pawing his jab in the face of Ortiz. Both boxers are keeping their distance looking for a counter. Ortiz misses with a wild left to the body of Wilder. Wilder throws out a straight right hand that is partially blocked. Wilder throws out a check left hook and Ortiz stabs a jab to the body. Wilder and Ortiz both miss straight crosses. Wilder flicks out three jabs and a cross to the body. Ortiz is showing good head movement. Ortiz bangs to the body of Wilder. Ortiz lands a left to the head and body of Wilder. Wilder lands a jab to the nose of Ortiz. Another slower round.
10-9 Wilder; 19-19
Round 3:
Wilder goes back to pawing a jab in the face of Ortiz. Ortiz lands a left to the body of Wilder. Wilder misses with a left hook to the body. Ortiz lands a straight left on Wilder’s face. Lots of feints early on in the round. Ortiz blocks a straight right by Wilder. Ortiz almost has Wilder trapped in a corner and lands a body shot. Wilder responds with a jab in the face of Ortiz. Wilder throws out a double jab. Ortiz bangs a good left off the head of Wilder and follows it with a body shot. Wilder lands a good straight right that catches Ortiz’s attention. Ortiz is backing Wilder up this round.
10-9 Ortiz; 29-28 Ortiz
Round 4:
Ortiz pressing forward slowly and throws out three consecutive jabs. Wilder lands a check left hook. Wilder looks a little looser this round. Ortiz momentarily traps Wilder by the corner and throws out two hard left hooks that barely miss. Ortiz ducks under a Wilder right and lands a combo in response. Wilder tells Ortiz to bring it and Ortiz smiles at him. Ortiz is still stalking Wilder, but neither boxer is throwing anything of note. Both appear to respect each other’s power. Wilder throws a power right hand that is blocked. Ortiz throws a left to the body of Wilder.
10-9 Ortiz; 39-37 Ortiz
Round 5:
The slower pace of this fight so far favors Ortiz. Ortiz barely misses an overhand left. Wilder pawing his jab in the face of Ortiz. Crowd is chanting for Ortiz. Ortiz lands another left to the body of Wilder. Wilder is hesitant to open up and take a risk. Ortiz ducks under a two punch combo by Wilder. Ortiz lands another shot to the body of Wilder. Ortiz misses a looping left hook to the body. Ortiz continues to throw to the body of Wilder. Wilder bangs two punches off the shoulder of Ortiz. Ortiz has Wilder backing into a corner again. Wilder lands a good left hand that seems to stun Ortiz a little bit. Ortiz lands a left cross and Wilder tags Ortiz with a jab. Wilder wins the round based on that jab maybe hurting Ortiz, but close round.
10-9 Wilder; 48-47 Ortiz
Round 6:
Ortiz is once again backing Wilder up slowly. Ortiz throws a misses barely with a left to the body. Wilder has been mainly landing jabs. Wilder misses with a jab. Ortiz is looking for a counter on Wilder. Ortiz lands good short jab. Wilder tags Ortiz with a jab. Both boxers land lead hooks. Wilder lands another lead left hook. Ortiz throws out a three punch combo but it is mainly blocked. Wilder lands a jab. Another close round.
10-9 Wider; 57-57
Round 7:
Wilder opens up with a left hook to the body of Ortiz. Ortiz lands a good left to the body. Wilder gets tagged with a counter left hand. Ortiz lands another good left hand. Ortiz has to be careful with freely exchanging with a power puncher like Wilder. Wilder touoches Ortiz with a jab. Wilder lands a good lead straight right. Wilder barely misses with another straight right hand. Wilder misses with a right hook. Wilder throwing more right hands this round. Ortiz flicks out three jabs that are short. Wilder lands a left hook to the body. Ortiz lands a two punch combination. Ortiz may have Wilder a little stunned. Wilder is backing into a corner and Ortiz lands an over the top left. Wilder lands a vicious straight right hand and Ortiz drops to the mat. Ortiz is unable to get up before the count of ten.
Deontay Wilder once again proves when you have power, all it takes is one punch.
Deontay Wilder wins by knockout 2:51 of the seventh round.