WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder celebrates after defeating
Luis Ortiz in their title fight at MGM Grand Garden Arena on Nov. 23,
2019 in Las Vegas. Wilder retained his title with a seventh-round
knockout. (Photo by Steve Marcus/Getty Images)
LAS VEGAS — Ben Davison, the highly regarded young trainer of lineal
heavyweight champion Tyson Fury, was asked Saturday if Deontay Wilder’s
punching power was up there among the best in heavyweight boxing
history.
Davison took exception to two words in the question.
“Up there?” Davison said. “He’s the biggest puncher not just in heavyweight history, but in boxing history.”
That’s a massive statement, but Wilder is building a case for himself as perhaps the biggest puncher the game has known. He knocked out Luis Ortiz on Saturday with an unbelievably quick, powerful and accurate right hand, dropping the Cuban with a thud late in the seventh round. Ortiz eventually got up, but referee Kenny Bayless stopped the bout.
The victory raised Wilder’s record to 42-0-1 and was his 41st
knockout. He did next-to-nothing offensively in the first six rounds,
waiting, waiting and waiting some more. He never landed more than five
punches in any of those rounds, and Ortiz was putting the rounds in the
bank.
He won five of six on the cards of Dave Moretti and Steve Weisfeld and four of six on Eric Cheek’s card at the midpoint. Yahoo Sports gave all of the first six rounds to Ortiz.
Wilder was on his way to losing a decision, but he’s not a guy who ever thinks of a fight going to the scorecards.
“To be honest, I never worry about if I’m losing the fight or not,”
Wilder said. “I’ve been blessed with something these other guys haven’t
been blessed with, and that’s tremendous power. I know that when I hit
guys, it hurts them. When you have power like I have, you’re not worried
about whether you’re winning rounds or not.”
Deontay Wilder walks away after knocking down Luis Ortiz in a
heavyweight title boxing match Saturday, Nov. 23, 2019, in Las Vegas.
(AP Photo/John Locher)
Mike Tyson is the standard by which all modern power punchers are
judged, but Wilder may have already surpassed Tyson in that regard, at
least with the straight right. He gets tremendous leverage on his right
and with the speed with which he throws it, opponents have little
opportunity to react.
Joe Louis is widely regarded as the biggest puncher in heavyweight
history. Earnie Shavers, George Foreman, Sonny Liston, Tyson and Jack
Dempsey are also in that mix.
There have been few, though, like Wilder, who is a wiry 6-foot-7 and
who throws punches from angles fighters don’t see often. He’s got great
hand speed and when he commits to a punch, it gets home in an instant.
Ortiz found that out in a fight he was controlling easily.
“I said this wasn’t going to go 12 rounds,” Ortiz said during the post-fight news conference, forcing a smile.
He fought a smart fight, and was giving Wilder trouble. But Wilder
learned patience and didn’t want to throw just for the sake of trying to
create an opening. He doesn’t need to break his opponents down over
time.
He’s one of those rare guys who needs to land just one to end it.
“I’ve said it so often, these guys I’m fighting, they have to be
perfect for 12 rounds, but I only have to be perfect for two seconds,”
Wilder said.
Louis was a devastating puncher on the inside. He reportedly had a six-inch punch that would knock men cold.
Tyson would bob and weave his way past the jab and then use extremely
fast hands and a quick body to create explosive power. Foreman and
Liston were large, strong men and everything about them reeked power.
But there hasn’t really been anyone like Wilder in boxing history. He
has an 84-inch reach at 6-foot-7, and has the speed of a man much
smaller. While his technique as a boxer isn’t classic, his punches come
from unusual angles and are hard to pick up.
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