Heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz (28-1, 24 KOs) is not happy with the way his world title shot played out last weekend at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Ortiz had WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs) in serious trouble during the seventh round and appeared to be on the verge of finishing him off. Wilder appeared to be saved by the bell.
At the start of the eight round, there was a timeout period called in order for the local commission to examine Wilder.
Ortiz and his handlers believe the timeout period was called in order to provide Wilder with additional time to recover from the seventh round.
Wilder would fully recover by the end of the ninth, and stopped Ortiz in the tenth after two knockdowns.
If not for the timeout period, Ortiz and his handlers believe they would have stopped Wilder.
They are not alone in their thinking.
Eddie Hearn, promoter for IBF, IBO, WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua, believes there is some credibility to Ortiz's complaints.
Hearn thought a unification between Wilder and Joshua was all over in the seventh.
"In that seventh round I needed a change of underpants because I'm thinking 'it's all over.' If it wasn't for the doctors giving him the extra 20 seconds then it might have been over," Hearn told BoxingScene.com's Declan Taylor.
Hearn wants to match Joshua against Wilder sooner than later - provided Joshua defeats WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker on March 31 at Principality Stadium in Cardiff, Wales.
The Matchroom promoter fears that Wilder might get beat before they get a deal together, so he's not fully sold on needing more time to build up the fight.
"I'm just not sure whether we should wait because Wilder might get beat," Hearn said.
"When Wilder says "Eddie Hearn doesn't want that fight"... mate, are you joking? Do you know how much money is in that fight? And I love money. Deontay Wilder gets it, hopefully he doesn't chin me when he sees me in Cardiff but he knows he needs all the help he can get, when it comes to promotion.
"I spoke with Haymon's team this week, I said 'we will make this fight together.' We will make the fight, it's inevitable. I think we have a tougher fight, technically, in Joseph Parker. As soon as that fight is over, I will be on the phone to make that fight."
2023-10-20 15:03:53
