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Sport

04th Mar 2018

Deontay Wilder wilder than ever as he stakes claim for ‘AJ’ fight with epic finish

WHAT A FIGHT

Darragh Murphy

Deontay Wilder can just turn it on when he wants.

Wilder certainly won’t go down as the most technically sound heavyweight champion in history but there’s no doubting his power or questioning his perfect professional record.

‘The Bronze Bomber’ retained his WBC heavyweight championship in New York City on Saturday night but showed that he was willing to bide his time before unleashing his signature attack which is Wilder by name, wilder by nature.

Wilder was dragged into deep waters but secured a hard-earned stoppage victory with some clubbing blows that are simply not taught in boxing gyms.

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Cuba’s Luis Ortiz looked well on his way to outboxing Wilder early on as he likely claimed the first four rounds by the narrowest of margins but the fifth round felt very much like a turning point as the brash Alabama native floored Ortiz with a right hand at the bell.

The fight exploded into action in the seventh round as Ortiz emptied his gas tank on the chin of Wilder, who was hurt for the first time in his career and was forced to hold on for dear life to make it to the stool.

The American took the eighth round off entirely, barely throwing a punch as his goal was to get his legs back under him and the snap was clearly back in Wilder’s shots when he came out for the ninth, which ended in a furious flurry.

Wilder’s killer instinct showed itself in the 10th round and while it wasn’t quite the windmill offence that we’ve seen before from the 32-year-old, a frantic combination earned ‘The Bronze Bomber’ the 40th consecutive victory of his professional career.

With Anthony Joshua set to take on Joseph Parker in a unification bout at the end of this month, Wilder would be the perfect opponent for the winner.

“I’m ready right now. I always said that I wanted to unify. I’m ready to unify,” Wilder said.

“I’m ready whenever those guys are but it seems like those guys aren’t in any rush to fight me because I am the most dangerous man in the world. I am the baddest man on the planet and I proved that tonight by solidifying my position at the top of the food chain.

“Soon there will be one champion, one face, one name and he goes by the name of Deontay Wilder.”