Luis Ortiz: Wilder will KO Joshua in three rounds!

Boxingnews24.com

By Scott Gilfoid

Luis Ortiz doesn’t like Anthony Joshua’s chances against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder when the two eventually face each other in the future. The talented Cuban sees Deontay knocking IBF/WBA/WBO champion Joshua (21-0, 20 KOs) out by the third round.

Ortiz, 38, found out first hand he talent level of the 6’7” in losing to him by a 10th round knockout earlier this year in an exciting war on Showtime Boxing on March 3 at the Barclays in Brooklyn, New York.

Right now a fight between Wilder and Joshua doesn’t look like it’s going to be happening anytime soon due to the reluctance of the British fighter and his wily promoter Eddie Hearn in giving Deontay the 50-50 purse split that he’s asking for. They’ve been insisting that Wilder accept a $15 million flat fee for a fight on April 13 at Wembley Stadium in London, England. The fight could make as much as $100 million smackers. Wilder would receive a pitiful percentage if the fight brings in that kind of cash.

“Wilder would knock out Joshua in three rounds,” Ortiz said to Premier Boxing Champions. ”Wilder’s the faster and more aggressive of the two fighters. Of the two fighters, Wilder probably has the better chin. Joshua will not be able to withstand Wilder’s punching power.”

You have to agree with Ortiz’s observations about Wilder and Joshua. Wilder is the faster and more aggressive of the two fighters. Joshua is kind of timid due to his chin and stamina problems. You can argue that timidity overflows into his reluctance to fight the unbeaten knockout artist Wilder (40-0, 39 KOs). Wilder has been chasing Joshua for three years without any luck. Joshua should have given Deontay a fight as far back as 2015.

You can spot Joshua a break for not fighting Wilder from 2013 to 2015, as he was still trying to get his wings under him as a pro, but there’s no excuse for not making the fight happen from 2015 to 2018. Right now, there’s no telling when the Wilder vs. Joshua fight will take place. It obviously won’t be happening on April 13 next year, because it’s clear that Hearn plans on matching AJ against either Jarrell ‘Big Baby’ Miller or Dillian Whyte. Those two are both with Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing stable, and neither of them are any threat to beating Joshua. Wilder IS a threat to Joshua, so he’s clearly not going to get the fight against him.

“Wladimir Klitschko put Joshua on his ass, and a younger Wladimir would have gotten him out of there,” Oriz said. ”Wilder will not forget what Klitschko did to Joshua, so I see Wilder being all over him and Joshua hitting the floor.”

I absolutely agree with you, Mr. Ortiz. A younger Wladimir Klitschko would have absolutely smashed Joshua to pieces if the two of them had fought years ago. If a 28-year-old Wladimir could have faced Joshua last year, it would have been a bad night for AJ. I hate to say it. Joshua wouldn’t have know what hit him after the “Steelhammer’ Klitschko landed one of his big left hooks or right hands. Heck, even at 41, Wladimir was faster, more powerful and the far more talented and athletic fighter of the two. The only thing Joshua had going for him in that fight was it took place in front of his adoring fans at Wembley Stadium in London, England. Had that fight taken place in a neutral venue, Wladimir would have won that fight. With Wladimir’s old trainer Emmanuel Steward in his corner last year, he would have put Joshua out of his misery when he had him on the canvas in the 6th round. Without Steward, Wladimir showed mercy to Joshua, choosing to let him survive after he had him hurt in the 6th round and totally gassed out until the 10th.

”Joshua will have no answer for Wilder’s style, which is a crazy powerful approach coupled with his chin,” Ortiz said. With all of that being said, Wilder is the superior fighter. Joshua will not be able to withstand his punches at all, point-blank, period.”

I expect Joshua to have his moments in the first minute of the fight, but once he wakes Wilder up, he’s going to be getting swung on and I expect the contest to be over with straightaway. Wilder goes to another level when he has an opponent that is trying to take him out. Wilder will start bouncing right hands off Joshua’s chin, and the fight will be over with as soon as he’s hurt in the 1st round. I see Joshua as Audley Harrison 2.0. He’s good at beating weak opposition the way that the 6’6” Harrison did, but he’s going to come apart at the seams when he gets inside the ring with Wilder. I suspect that Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn already knows what the deal is, which is why he’s not giving Wilder a respectable percentage split offer for the fight.

One way for Hearn to make sure that the Joshua-Wilder fight NEVER takes place is for him to continue to give Wilder a take it or leave it $15 million flat fee offer without sweetening it by throwing in another $15 million to beef it up to $30M. To me, Hearn doesn’t seem remotely serious about wanting to make the Joshua vs. Wilder fight. Hearn’s flat fee offers of $15 million looks like it’s just being done for show for public consumption so that he can say to Joshua’s loyal boxing fans that he’s trying to make the Wilder fight. Obviously when you’re offering a star like Deontay a flat fee rather than a percentage deal, you’re not serious about wanting to make the fight. That’s okay. Wilder will stay in his lane and keep compiling win after win in going after Floyd Mayweather’s 50-0 record. Wilder plans on breaking the Mayweather record by going 51-0, and showing the boxing world that he’s got the talent to go far past that record.

For some reason, Hearn hasn’t matched Joshua against Luis Ortiz. You would think that Hearn could have had Joshua defend against the arguably more talented Ortiz instead of his record-padding title defenses against Dominic Breazeale, Eric Molina and Carlos Takam. Surely you think that Hearn would have looked Ortiz’s way and matched him against Joshua instead of those three flawed fighters.

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