The blueprint to beat Deontay Wilder isn’t complex it is really simple.
The problem is even simple things can be very hard to do especially when someone has hammers as fists. Wilder has improved a lot as a boxer, but he is still wild and unorthodox. He is also prone to get frustrated the longer fights go on.
This is how Tyson Fury was able to outbox him for the majority of their fight.
The issue is when Wilder does hit you flush, you normally feel it and you go down. The same thing happened to Fury for 10 rounds he was great, but he was caught in two rounds and that was the difference between an easy decision win and a draw.
Ortiz in the original fight had the same type of success for spurts and had Wilder hurt, but alas when he didn’t KO him, he didn’t have the stamina to finish out the fight and was eventually stopped.
The question begs at 40 years old, does Ortiz have the stamina to go 12 rounds without being caught? He has the boxing skills we know that and he has the power to cause Wilder to think twice about running wildly in.
Ortiz admits it was fatigue that got the best of him in the first fight.
“It was a fatigue strike. I think if I had continued, I would have gotten the knockout, ”said Ortiz. “It was just fatigue, but I corrected it this time, so the best man will win.”
Ortiz was determined to get in better shape in this training camp to prevent that from happening again.
To that end, he moved his training camp to Las Vegas instead of training near his family and the distractions of his home in Miami. Ortiz said that being away from home helped him “in discipline and sacrifice for the fight. I miss my family, so every day it is more fuel to be a heavyweight champion.”
“All the hard work is finally coming to an end and now is the time to get enough rest to be at my best moment on the night of the fight,” Ortiz said. “As a team we work intelligently during this training camp. We did a little different things with my diet and I think that will make me perform at a high level on the night of the fight. My weight is right where I want it. Overall, it has been a very productive training ground.
“Coach Larry Wade has brought professionalism to the camp that fits perfectly with what we already do. I have a new look at some of the things that are being done with the boxers. So it was a nice change and, obviously, sometimes it can be the same, but it focuses differently and the body will react better and that is what it was. I’m very happy with coach Wade. “
I do think Ortiz will be in better physical condition, but he is still 40 years old and it is exhausting to fight Wilder where one punch can end it at any time.
I think it will be competitive at the beginning, but I see Wilder knocking out Ortiz a little earlier than he did in the first fight.
Flip the page for the highlights of Wilder-Ortiz 1.