Deontay Wilder: How many times do I have to call Anthony Joshua out?
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Loading..."There is no man that has stood in front of me that I haven't knocked out and I'm gonna continue my knockout spree," Wilder said proudly at his postfight news conference.
Deontay Wilder had just retained his heavyweight world title for the seventh time in a brutal battle with Luis "King Kong" Ortiz on Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn.
Wilder dropped Ortiz in the fifth round but then took so much damage, and came so close to getting knocked out in the seventh round, that all three judges awarded Ortiz a 10-8 round even though he didn't knock down Wilder.
It was miraculous that Wilder survived the round and then, in the 10th round, he came storming back to destroy Ortiz. He knocked him down with three brutal right hands and then finished him with one of the most sensational right uppercuts you'll ever see. Ortiz went limp on the mat and the fight was over.
Wilder appeared to stun Ortiz at the end of the ninth. And then came out firing hard in the tenth. After dropping Ortiz hard (28-1, 24 KOs) with a series of punches, Wilder went for the kill with an uppercut that sent Ortiz down for the third time - and the referee waved it off.
The victory, and the ability to stay on his feet in the seventh and overcome some real adversity, has raised Wilder's stock in the eyes of many critics.
o be fair, while Wilder was dealing with his tough task against Ortiz, Joshua is two fights removed from nearly getting knocked out by the future Hall of Famer Wladimir Klitschko last April in the 2017 fight of the year. And now, although Joshua (20-0, 20 KOs) is not facing Wilder next, he is taking on the division's other undefeated titleholder, Joseph Parker. They meet to unify their three belts on March 31 in Cardiff, Wales.
Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) plans to be ringside for the fight and hopes to fight the winner. He has been hired by Sky Sports, Joshua's home broadcaster, to serve as a commentator.
ESPN
Trader Велизар Митов
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