Deontay Wilder retained the WBC Heavyweight title with a scintillating one-punch knockout in round seven over Luis Ortiz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.
The fight did not have too much action as Ortiz was very effective landing his straight left hands. He just missed a couple of lefts that could have been fight-changing punches. Wilder started getting inhis right in round five.
In round seven, Wilder landed a perfect right to the head that crushed Ortiz down to the canvas. Ortiz got to his knees and tried to get to his feet, but could not beat referee Kenny Bayless’s 10-coungt and the fight was over at 2:51.
Wilder, 219.5 lbs of Tuscaloosa, AL will now look at a February 22th bout with Tyson Fury and has a record of 42-0-1 with 41 knockouts. Ortiz, 236.5 lbs of Cuba is 31-2.
“With Ortiz, you can see why no other heavyweight wants to fight him,” said Wilder. “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,” said Wilder. “I saw the shot and I took it. 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.”
“This is boxing,” said Ortiz. “I said that one of us was going to get knocked out and it wasn’t going to go 12 rounds. 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.
“This was a great fight and I thought I was clearly winning,” continued Ortiz. “I got caught with a big shot and I have to give Deontay Wilder a lot of credit. I knew my movement was giving him problems. I landed some big shots and I thought I had him hurt. I thought I was up by the count and could have continued.”
“Deontay showed great will and I’m not ashamed with my performance,” said Ortiz. “I know I can beat anyone in the heavyweight division. My career is not over. I’m going to work my way back into a big fight.”
“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.”
Leo Santa Cruz became a four-division champion as he won the WBA Super Featherweight with a 12-round unanimous decision over Miguel Flores.
The fight was non descript with Santa Cruz winning every round. Flores was deducted a point in round eight for holding.
Santa Cruz, 129.5 lbs of Mexico won by scores of 117-110 twice and 115-112 and is now 37-1-1. Flores, 130 lbs of Houston is 24-3.
“I’m glad I got the victory,” said Santa Cruz. “Miguel is a good fighter, he gave me a tough fight and he proved he’s not a pushover. We put on a great battle.”
“It was a good fight and I showed I belong at this level,” said Flores. “I just went 12 rounds with Leo Santa Cruz. It’s not an accomplishment in itself but I slowed down his pace. Like I said before, it’s not only about throwing punches, but it’s about ring IQ and I showed I have it.”
“It was a close fight and I didn’t think he was landing too much,” said Flores. “He was busy but he wasn’t landing too many shots. I landed cleaner harder shots but he was just busier.”
“I want to stay at 130,” said Santa Cruz. “We want the big fights in 2020. I want Gervonta Davis or Gary Russell Jr. I want to show the world I’m not scared of anybody.”
In a punchers delight, Brandon Figueroa kept his WBA Super Bantamweight title with a 12-round split draw with Julio Ceja.
The two traded punches in the middle of the ring to the tune of nearly 2800 punches thrown with Figueroa outlanding Ceja 411-378.
The judges scored 115-113 for Figueroa; 116-112 for Ceja and 114-114.
Figueroa, 122 lbs of Welasco, TX is 20-0-1. Ceja, who weighed in 4.5 lbs over the the super bantamweight limit is now 32-4-1.
“I think I did win the fight,” said Figueroa. “He put on a lot of pressure, but I fought better in the early rounds and I finished strong.”
“This fight is for all of you fans who came here to see me,” said Ceja. “He was a man about it and he gave me the fight. I think I won, but I respect the judges’ decision. I’ll definitely run it back in a rematch.”
“I basically fought a person in a weight class above mine tonight,” said Figueroa. “I’m pretty sure if he weighed 122, it wouldn’t even be a close fight. We have to run the rematch back but he better make the weight.”
Eduardo Ramirez scored a 5th round stoppage over Leduan Barthelemy in a scheduled 10-round featherweight bout.
Ramirez came on in the 4th and then in round five applied great pressure and dropped Barthelemy with a hard left hand. When Barthelemy got to his feet the fight was stopped at 2:59.
Ramirez, 126.5 lbs of Los Mochis, MX is 23-2-3 with 10 knockouts. Barthelemy, 127 lbs of Guantanamo, CUB is 15-1-1.
“I said before the fight, I wasn’t going to let it go to the judges,” said Ramirez. “The first fight wasn’t a draw. I worked very hard for this and it turned out how I wanted today. I felt his punching power. He’s a good fighter. I came here to fight. Viva Mexico.
“I’ve got no excuses,” said Barthelemy. “The better man won tonight. I had a great camp and I was feeling good. But when I got out there I wasn’t really feeling my best. I turned around to try to walk around and get my feet under me after the knockdown. I wasn’t trying to stop the fight or anything and I thought I could continue. Now I just have to live with it and come back.”
Omar Juarez remained undefeated with a 6th and final round stoppage over Kevin Shacks in a super lightweight bout.
In round one, Juarez dropped Shacks twice, first with a hard combination. The 2nd was from a ripping body shot.
In round six, Juarez landed an inside right that dropped Shacks for the 10-count at 1:59.
Juarez, 142.5 lbs of Brownsville, TX is now 6-0 with four knockouts. Shacks, 143.5 lbs of Lansing, MI is 3-5-3.
Good looking prospect Vito Mielnicki Jr. stopped Marklin Bailey in round two of a scheduled four round welterweight bout.
In round two, Mielnicki hurt Bailey with a right hand, and then landed a left that rocked Bailey and the fight was stopped at 2:31.
Mielnicki of Roseland, NJ is 3-0 with three knockouts. Bailey of Durham, NC is 6-6.
Dustin Long knocked out Deontay’s brother, Marsellos Wilder with one perfect straight left in round of scheduled six-round cruiserweight bout.
Longm 198.5 lbs of Johnson City, TN is 3-1-2 with three knockouts. Wilder, 197 lbs Tuscaloosa, AL is 5-2.
Viktor Slavinskyi won a six-round unanimous decision over Rigoberto Hermosillo in a super featherweight bout.
Slavinskyi, 127.5 lbs of Ukraine won by scores of 60-54, 59-55 and 58-56 and is now 11-0-1. Hermosillo, 127.5 lbs of Guadalara, MX is 11-9-1.
Slavinskyi was cut over the right eye at the end of round four due to an accidental headbutt.
Angel Alejandro won a six-round unanimous decision over Mark John Yap in a super featherweight bout.
Alejandro, 130.5 of Dallas, TX is now 8-0. Yap of the Philippines is 30-15.
Jhon Gemino scored an shocking one-punch knockout over previously undefeated Arnold Alejandro in round five of a scheduled eight round super featherweight bout.
In round one, Gemino dropped Alejandro with a right hook.
In round five, Gemino landed a perfect right on the jaw that sent Alejandro crashing towards the canvas, and the bout was stopped at 1:45.
Gemino, 129.5 lbs of Lipo City, PHL is 21-12-1 with 11 knockouts. Alejandro, 129.5 lbs of Dallas, TX is 11-1.
Jose Manuel Gomez stopped Daniel Placeris after round three of a scheduled eight-round super featherweight bout.
Gomez scored a knockdown from a hard left hook in the early seconds of the bout. In round two, Gomez dropped Placeris from a left to the body. In round three, Gomez landed a hard left that sent Placeris down for a 3rd time in the bout. The bout was stopped in the corner following the 3rd round.
Gomez, 130 lbs of Hunting Park, CA is 12-0 with five knockouts. Placeris, 129.5 lbs of Miami is 8-3-1.
