Deontay Wilder warned us this would happen.
Saturday night, the heavyweight world titleholder extended his reign in a 7th round victory over opponent Luis Ortiz with a knockout punch that would ultimately seal Wilder's victory.
Before the MGM Grand Garden Arena, Ortiz found himself ahead on all three scorecards before the Bronze Bomber landed a right hand to the forehead that would send the Cuban fighter down, dramatically shifting the outcome of the night's highly-anticipated rematch.
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"With Ortiz, you can see why no other heavyweight wants to fight him," Wilder said post-victory. "He's very crafty. He moves strategically, and his intellect is very high. I had to measure him in certain places. I had to go in and out, and finally, I found my measurement [...] I saw the shot, and I took it," Wilder said. "My intellect is very high in the ring, and no one gives me credit for me. I think I buzzed him with a left hook earlier in the round, and I took it from there."
It marks the tenth time that Wilder has successfully defended his title and signals a closer step toward his scheduled rematch with lineal champ Tyson Fury in February.
"This is boxing. I said that one of us was going to get knocked out and it wasn't going to go 12 rounds," Ortiz conceded via an interpreter. "I was clear-headed when I hit the canvas. When I heard the referee say, "Seven," I was trying to get up, but I guess the count went a little quicker than I thought. I'm ready for any battle. I want to thank my team and everybody that came to see this fight."
