Take two: Will Deontay Wilder knock out Luis Ortiz again?

WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder likes to knock out his opponents. He’s accomplished the feat 40 times in 41 professional fights.

“I never want to leave the ring without a man being knocked out,” Wilder said last week at an international media press conference. “I knock you out. That’s the rules that I play with in this boxing industry. I don’t play around with no one.

“I make it loud and clear. I meant what I said, I say it loud and clear so there is no miscommunications between my language and the words that I chose to use. I’m a knockout artist. That’s what I plan to do, to knock you out.”

Ok. Direct and to the point. Like Wilder’s right hand, though, it’s not always direct. More wandering, but when it lands, it’s right on. Wilder dropped a bomb on Dominic Breazale last May. The end came in a little over two minutes.

Wilder will be making the 10^th defense of his heavyweight title November 23 at the same venue where he captured his strap, the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas, NV., against heavyweight Luis Ortiz in a rematch.

Ortiz almost ended Wilder’s title reign last year. A counter left buzzed Wilder from head to toe. His skinny legs buckled—leaving him staggering like a drunk leaving a bar. One more drink, I mean punch, and the fight might have been over, but Ortiz couldn’t finish him.

Wilder, showing intestinal fortitude, and a big heart, rallied in round nine. A whipping right hurt Ortiz. Another punch scrambled his senses. Wilder continued his rally in the next stanza. Three clubbing rights floored Ortiz. Up before the count of 10, Ortiz was in a world of trouble. Another right landed. Wilder stepped inside and connected with the coup de grace, a short right uppercut that sent Ortiz to his knees. The referee took one look at the limp Ortiz and waved off the contest.

Wilder, rightfully expected some love after being the first man to defeat Ortiz. Sure, Orrtiz might be 40 going on 50, but the guy is a talented fighter. The old saying, “To the victor goes the spoils,” didn’t apply here. If anything, he was mocked, which is unfortunate.

Why?

Because sometimes he looks like an amateur. His punches are powerful, but delivered in an awkward way. When the lanky 6-foot-7-inch Wilder swings for the fences, which is often, he can fall off balance-like a praying mantis tripping over his own wing.

But should any of that really matter? Wilder doesn’t hide behind the skirts of promoters. He wants to fight the best. He was fortunate last December when Tyson Fury gave him a boxing lesson for most of their 12-round affair. Wilder did score two knockdowns, the second seemingly ending the fight in the last round. The fight was over, right? But wait, not so fast. Fury got up, and a minute later, hurt the exhausted Wilder with a jolting right hand.

To the naked eye, the gigantic Fury appeared to have done more than enough to deserve the decision. He boxed well, befuddling Wilder with clever movement and fast hands. Wilder made things interesting by flooring Fury in round nine, and seemingly knocking out “The Gypsy King” in the last round.

One would think that eight or nine rounds of sustained consistency would have been enough to overcome two knockdowns. Think again.

The bout was judged a draw. Wilder and Fury are supposed to do it again early next year.

But first he has to get past Ortiz. The Cuban heavyweight has won three fights in a row since getting starched by Wilder. Nobody really knows how old he is. Maybe his mother. Ortiz can box or punch. His record shows 31 wins, with 26 knockouts. He knows how to fight on the inside. His biggest wins have come against Bryant Jennings and Tony Thompson.

Though he lost, Ortiz feels he learned a lot in their first encounter.

“So he can bring whatever he is going to bring,” said Ortiz. “No problem.”

Make no mistake about it, Ortiz is a live underdog. He appears to be in better shape for the sequel. He was gassed pretty early in the first fight. That was an issue when he had Wilder in trouble. He feels he’ll do the job this time.

Could happen, but common sense says no. Wilder,34, knows Ortiz as well. In his last fight, Ortiz was tagged by right hands. Wilder’s right hand is packed with TNT.

I’m expecting another competitive battle, with Wilder eventually prevailing by what else---a knockout.