Chill out on the Wilder hate for like 5 minutes.

This past weekend, Deontay Wilder defended his title against Luis Ortiz; a man that has been on an absolute tear, knocking out dudes left and right. From what I was reading on the internet, it appeared that most people were expecting Wilder to walk through the 38 year old Cuban. I mean, Wilder just came off of a knockout win over Bermane Stiverne that, in no disrespect to Stiverne, looked like a bear mauling a 7-year-old girl on the way to her grandmother’s house.

Going into this fight, I was not expecting much to be honest. I have seen Wilder fight and he isn’t necessarily known for his fundamentals. His athleticism has carried him into this fight with a record of 39 wins with 38 knockouts. I’m no mathematician, but the odds of being knocked out by Deontay Wilder are pretty damn probable.

The bell rung to start the first round and I think I can speak for most people when I say that Ortiz surprised a lot of people by winning the opening round. Then he won the next round… then the next… oh, and he also won the 4th round as well. At the start of the 5th round, I was being lulled to sleep by the lack of intensity exhibited by Wilder. To be honest, he looked scared and surprised by the power of Ortiz.

Before I knew it, the fight turned into a god damn S-L-U-G-F-E-S-T. Wilder finally started throwing his awkward power punches and bullied Ortiz into a 10-8 round. The rest of the fight was just two grown men giving each other CTE. At one point, Wilder was badly hurt, with lifeless eyes staring at a 38-year-old Cuban man about to hand him his first professional loss. Just like that smoke show, Kelly Kapowski, Wilder was ~SAVED BY THE BELL.~

Wilder ended up winning by TKO in the 9th round when he dropped Ortiz with a clean uppercut. Even after this incredible fight, people were still giving Wilder shit. Saying that he is still a bad fighter, that he’s lucky he won this fight, and that Anthony Joshua will finish him easily. While this all may be true, I do not believe that Wilder is getting the credit he deserves.

Yeah he may fight like an awkward douchebag (please don’t try to fight me Deontay), but this was a huge win. He proved that he could endure serious punishment and still have the ability to turn the fight around. Oritz is no joke either. He has 368 amateur fights under his belt and he has beat some serious contenders in the heavyweight division. Whether you love Deontay Wilder or just love to hate Deontay Wilder, this was the biggest win of his career, proving that he can fight amidst the best boxers in the world. He’s got an uphill battle against Anthony Joshua, but I think he will surprise a lot of people when if that fight comes to fruition.

Written By: Ryan Langdon

@RyanLangdon_