Luis Ortiz: No Way Wilder Can Take My Punch; Will Pay for Mistakes

BOXING SCENE - By Keith Idec

NEW YORK – Luis Ortiz is convinced Deontay Wilder won’t be able to take his power Saturday night.

The strong southpaw from Cuba cannot wait to exploit Wilder’s technical flaws, mistakes Ortiz promises will lead to him knocking out the undefeated champion at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center. The extremely confident Wilder has knocked out 97 percent of his professional opponents, but Ortiz is sure Wilder is in for a devastating awakening when they fight for Wilder’s WBC title.

“There’s no way,” Ortiz said Thursday when asked after their press conference if Wilder will be able to handle his power. “Every mistake he makes, I’m gonna make him pay for it.”

Ortiz told Wilder exactly that, among other things, when they engaged in an intense staredown following Thursday’s press conference.

“I asked him when we were up there, ‘Do you wanna fight right now? We can go right now,’ ” Ortiz said. “I’ve got the hunger and I’m gonna do whatever it takes to win this fight.”

Miami’s Ortiz (28-0, 24 KOs, 2 NC) is confident he is a combination of intelligence, power and skill that Wilder hasn’t come close to encountering during the American’s ascent to stardom.

At the championship level, only Eric Molina appeared to hurt Wilder. Molina (26-5, 19 KOs) wobbled Wilder with a left hook early in the third round of their June 2015 fight.

Wilder quickly overcame that troublesome moment and dropped Molina four times. He knocked out Molina in the ninth round of his first title defense.

Mostly, though, Wilder has managed to avoid getting hit consistently with flush punches. Still, Wilder’s wildness at times leaves him susceptible to counter punches, the skillful Ortiz’s specialty.

“I’ve got power and I’ve got technique,” Ortiz said. “I don’t care. I’m ready to go.”

Ortiz, 38, and Wilder, 32, have combined to knock out 62 of 67 opponents (93 percent), excluding Ortiz’s two no-contests. Each fighter has gone 12 rounds just once, and Ortiz cannot envision that happening a second time Saturday night (Showtime; 9 p.m. ET).

“We’re both two guys with a lot of power,” Ortiz said, “and whoever makes the first mistake, the fight’s gonna be over with. And I’m not making that mistake.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.