Just a week before the Thanksgiving Holiday, PBC gives boxing fans a full plate of boxing topped off by a Heavyweight Championship rematch between Wilder and Ortiz. Before fans would be served the Heavyweight Championship, let’s review the preliminary fights which led up to that much-anticipated fight. Boxing fans would get a chance to see history be made when in a Super Featherweight Championship along with multiple slugfests that would serve as an appetizer for the main course later in the evening.
Roseland, NJ native Victor Mielnicki Jr took on Marklin Bailey from Durham, NC in the first preliminary fight of the night. After multiple hard-hitting combinations from Mielnicki, Bailey was sent to the canvass midway through the first round. To the dismay of Bailey’s corner and boxing fans in attendance, the refs seemed to prematurely stop the fight. Awarding Mielnicki a win by stoppage in the first round.
Super Lightweights Omar Juarez from Brownsville, TX faced off against Kevin Sacks of Lansing, MI in the second bout of the night. Juarez scored an early knockdown of Sacks with a strong left hook in the first round. Juarez then caught Sacks again with another power punch midway through Round 1 that put Sacks down. Clearly outclassed through most of the fight Sacks was knocked out in the 6th with a straight right hand from Jaurez.
Guantanamo, Cuba native Leduan Barthelemy meet Los Mochis, Mexico native Edwardo Ramirez in a highly contested Featherweights bout. After a flurry of hard-left hands punches and zero resistance throughout the first four rounds Ramirez finally knockouts Barthelemy with a strong left hand to end this fight.
In the WBA World Super Bantamweights fight Julio Ceja of Tlalepantia, Mexico challenged Brandon Figueroa of Welasco, TX. This started out as a slugfest, as Figueroa set an outstanding pace. By continuously working the body early Ceja was able to even up this fight in the middle rounds. I had Figueroa winning the early rounds and Ceja winning the later rounds and the judges agreed as this fight ended up being a split decision draw.
The Co-main event for the WBA World Super Featherweight Championship pitted Three-division champion Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz against Miguel “El Michoacan” Flores, which was also a fight for bragging of Michoacan, Mexico, where both of these fighters are from. Compared to the previous fight, this fight started out at a slow pace as. Flores appeared to headbutt Santa Cruz in the third round which seemingly woke up Santa Cruz.
As both fighters exchanged punches late in the 9th round, Flores throws some late punches questionable punches at the bell. Flores also caused a deep cut over the left eye of Santa Cruz in the 10th round. The cut never seemed to impact Santa Cruz as he closed out the fight strongly. In a unanimous decision, Leo Santa Cruz won his 4th division title by winning this fight in convincing fashion.
Prior to the main event, Fans erupted when Mike Tyson entered the arena. Tyson was joined by former Champions Hasim Rahman in attendance of the fight. In addition to Grammy Nominated Recording Artist Ne-Yo and the packed house of boxing fans adorning their best outfits on Saturday night.
The Deontay Wilder (41-0-1 40 KOs) and Luis Ortiz (36-1 26KOs) saga began, when mild-mannered Luis Ortiz called out WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder shortly after knocking out 6’ 7” Daniel Martz in December of 2017. Ortiz began barking at Wilder who sat ringside to call that fight on PBC in Hialeah, Fl.. Once Wilder got into the ring and the two of them began the pre-fight hype for their first for Wilder-Ortiz 1.
A Luis Ortiz failed drug test prevented this fight from happening months previously. The two boxers finally got in the ring at the Barclay’s Center in March of 2018 in Brooklyn, NY. It’s common knowledge amongst boxing aficionados that Ortiz would be the hardest puncher that Wilder has ever faced. Which made that the most highly anticipate Heavyweight fight in recent years.
Dubbed the Bronze Bomber when he won a Bronze medal for the United States at the 2008 Olympic Games, he is an active champion as this will be the third title defense in his last 11 months in addition to having a knockout percentage of 95%, which capture the minds of boxing fans across the globe. With a record of 41 wins and no losses, one draw, 40 knockouts coming into this rematch.
Ortiz came into this fight in much better shape and beaming with confidence. The Always confident Wilder was on a mission to prove their previous fight no fluke and answering any concerns of boxing enthusiasts. Though this didn’t appear to be a comfortable fight for Wilder early on.
By using his feet movement and newfound agility, Ortiz looked composed and comfortable throughout the early rounds of this fight. Ortiz lands then first big blow early in the round within a looping left hand to Wilders jaw in the first round. In round 4 Ortiz got Wilder’s attention with his strong left hand, so much so that Wilders beats on his own chest as if those punches didn’t affect him. in the fifth round after a couple more Ortiz left hooks, Wilder finally caught Ortiz and seemed to stagger him with a powerful right hand.
This was evident in the judge’s scorecards as two of the three judges’ scorecards had Ortiz winning 5 of the first 6 rounds. However, Wilder has proven to have that unprecedented knockout ability that can easily equalize the fight at any moment. As they entered the 7th round, Ortiz had reason to be confident as he controlled most of the fight. But then the Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder showed his devastating punching power when he unleashed his straight right hand on Ortiz’s chin. Once he connected Ortiz went down and wasn’t able to get up and the referee did not even reach a ten before he waved the fight off.
In his 10th consecutive title defense, since earning the championship belt in 2015, Wilder joins Joe Louis. Muhammad Ali, Larry Holmes, Tommy Burns, and the Klitschko Brothers as those with 10 or more consecutive successful title defenses. This puts him in rare class within Heavyweight Champions!
Wilder showed his patience and confidence in this fight. He allowed Ortiz to win most of the rounds waiting for the right time to unleash his strong right hand! Unlike any other fighter in the history of boxers in the history Wilder doesn’t have to be perfect in the ring. Because unlike any other fighter in boxing history Wilde has unique punching power that was on display once again tonight.
In his post-fight press conference Wilder asserted that “Next, we have Tyson Fury in the rematch,” said Wilder. “It’s scheduled for February, so we’ll see. Then, I want unification. I want one champion, one face and one heavyweight champion – Deontay Wilder. The heavyweight division is too small, there should be one champion and it’s Deontay Wilder.”
I asked Wilder about the patience he displayed against Ortiz he responded by saying, “As a true champion, I’m still learning! I love to learn; if I wasn’t still learning this would be boring to me already. With Ortiz, again, I had to be smart period. He’s the most dangerous heavyweight in the division. I like to put myself in fights that are meaningful to me. I’m looking for legacy.”
This was another impressive win by Wilder to cap off a great night of boxing at the MGM Grand Arena. His patience was impressive and I’m looking forward to seeing if he can replicate the performance in his upcoming rematch against Tyson Fury in February. Please let your thoughts on Wilders 10th consecutive title defense by commenting in the comment section of this article on www.whatsgoodinsports.com or by following me on Twitter at “Voice of the Fans” for immediate engagement. Additionally, subscribe to our weekly “Voice of the Fans Podcast” which is available for you on Apple and Google Podcasts including Spotify, TuneIn, and iHeart Radio. As always, we certainly appreciate you for making our voice your choice!
Flip the page for Tyson Fury’s trainer speaking on why Wilder’s belt really belongs to Fury.