Ahead of this weekend’s WBC heavyweight title fight in Brooklyn Peter Wells is back to give his official Wilder v Ortiz predictions from the top of the card to the bottom.
By no fault of his own, Deontay Wilder has been heavily involved in events that have seriously damaged the reputation of boxing over the last few years.
There have been an unnerving number of Heavyweight boxer’s that seem to have become adept at cheating and facing no consequences, and often we are not talking about fighter’s caught once with illegal substances, but the issue lies with repeat offenders.
In the month of March, Sky Sports viewers will become very well acquainted with a handful of those caught red-handed.
At the end of the month, Sky Sports Box Office will feature Alexander Povetkin, a man who twice failed drug tests ahead of mandatory challenges to Wilder’s WBC Heavyweight crown.
He faces the unfortunate Price, who unlike Wilder has not received the necessary protection prior to fights against drug cheats that Wilder has had.
Instead, to some extent, his career has been severely derailed by those that have failed to stay within the guidelines.
It is ironic on Matchroom’s part that they would turn their back on Ohara Davies for tweets that took a highly offensive and unnecessary dig towards the Hillsborough tragedy, yet welcome Povetkin, Dillian Whyte, Lucas Browne and Kid Galahad with open arms on to big televised events.
On Saturday night it will be Luis Ortiz 28-0(24KO’s) who is offered another shot at redemption, following a failed drugs test ahead of their proposed match-up last November.
And like Povetkin, Ortiz disgracefully goaded Wilder, claiming the American was scared and ducking a fight with him.
The sad part is that some so-called boxing fans agree with these notions from fighter’s that violated the one rule that should never be breached in the sport.
Wilder’s unfair and undue criticism has led him to accept this fight with Ortiz, hoping to punish the Cuban, as boxing governing bodies have failed to do.
The meeting in itself is a highly fascinating one, and for Wilder’s sake at least we should give it credit based on the match-up itself – and not the elephant in the room.
Wilder 39-0(38KO’s) has already taken his wild frustrations out on old rival Bermane Stiverne in a first round that highlighted a scary level of power, but also a worrying lack of boxing technique.
Wilder’s jab – like basically every aspect of his game – has been underrated.
When used to its full effect it has been a potent weapon.
And while the use of it often leads to several rounds of little action, his opponents are often left too busy worrying about when the right hand will follow it up.
When the windmills come flying in than Wilder is extremely vulnerable, but it is not as though the champion is flailing his arms wildly all fight, and when he does opt to drop those tomahawks in the ring I’d like someone to suggest a fighter that would be unwise enough to trade fire-with-fire in those moments.
It may not be pretty, but in small doses it is a perfect antidote to both stifle your opponents offence and force them into submission.
Ortiz carries his own dynamite in his fist’s, but like many heavy hitters, he has looked ponderous in his sole pursuit of a knockout.
David Allen dragged him out for 7 rounds in 2016, just a month after Malik Scott survived multiple knockdowns before navigating his way through the entire 12 rounds.
Ortiz can cause serious problems for Wilder, most notably in the early stages.
But Wilder is an experienced world championship fighter now, and he knows how to negotiate his way through his opponent’s best periods.
Although you never get the feeling that Wilder is out of the woods for as long as a fight lasts, Ortiz’s best bet seems to lie within the opening 5 or 6 rounds.
This is where his punches will carry the most effect should they land flush on the chin of Wilder.
The pick is for the champion to opt to jab his way through the early proceedings, frustrating the aggressive Ortiz with his incessant movement and prodding jab.
On the first few occasions that Wilder opts to launch the right hand, he will look untidy, but it may only take a single one to send this fight spiralling for the challenger.
One can see the fight going the full 12 rounds, but full of a need to make things right, Wilder will force his ever-growing presence on a man who will be tiring from the 8th round onward.
This will become dangerous territory for Ortiz, and the fight will come to its conclusion when he crumbles to the canvas late on. Ortiz will continue, but only for Wilder to windmill his way to another stoppage in the 10th round.
Controversy was laced all over the first meeting between Andre Dirrell and Jose Uzcategui, when the latter was harshly disqualified for hitting Dirrell momentarily after the bell.
Dirrell looked shaken but okay to continue before he opted to take his place on the canvas, thus leaving referee Bill Clancy with a decision to make.
A disqualification was opted for, with Uzcategui 26-2(22KO’s) ahead on the scorecards at the time. Dirrell’s trainer and uncle then disgraced himself by attacking the Venezuelan after the fight.
Dirrell 26-2(16KO’s) was the favourite heading into the first fight, but this time around it seems that the Flint, Michigan fighter is edging towards his career’s end.
Uzcategui can score an early knockdown before outlasting Dirrell enough to earn himself a tight decision win after 12 rounds.
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