In the early hours of Sunday morning UK-time, WBC World Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder will defend his title against the man, who up until Wilder came across Tyson Fury, offered him his biggest test in the ring to date; Cuban boxing professional Luis Ortiz. This second bout promises to be even bigger than the first, with the winner of the bout in line to enjoy some money spinning bouts in the near future against the winner of the David Ruiz Jnr v Anthony Joshua bout in a fortnight’s time, as well as the still undefeated former undisputed World Champion and now WWE Superstar, Tyson Fury. Add to this a number of up and coming fighters, such as Joe Joyce and Daniel Dubois, the move up to heavyweight of cruiserweight Champion Oleksandr Usyk and the likes of Dereck Chisora still around, it looks like being a highly competitive few years in the heavyweight division. If you fancy a flutter on the outcome of this rematch between the current Champion and his Cuban challenger, then why not take a look at the wide range of markets available on the bout that are currently available at bet365 Sport? Not only can you back either fighter to win the bout, but there is a whole range of bets available including how the fight will be won and by whom, round betting and whether or not the fight will go the distance. If you are not yet a bet365 customer, you can join today with the latest bet365 New Customer Bonus which will see you get a great value deal when you sign up to bet on site. There’s also going to be plenty of interest in this bout in the United States and you can enjoy plenty of betting on it at new sites like PlaySugarHouse.com, if you are based in Pennsylvania of course. Sign up today to get online and betting with the site which also offers poker and online casino gaming. To get the latest news on what is the best deals available, check out the current playsugarhouse promo code details in the link. Let’s now take a closer look at the fight in a bit more detail.

Wilder v Ortiz II – Preview

The First Fight – Wilder Wins Late After Scare

Having amassed a 39-0 winning record, Deontay Wilder faced off against Luis Ortiz, who at the time held a 28-0 winning record, at the Barclays Center in New York on the 3^rd March 2018, with Wilder’s WBC Heavyweight World title on the line. Prior to the fight, Ortiz has been involved in a doping case where the WBC had withdrawn their sanction of the fight with Wilder and ordered the American to face Canadian Bermane Stiverne instead. Following this and Ortiz refusal to request a ‘B’ sample, the WBA banned the Cuban for a year. However, the WBC issued a final ruling in November 2017, fining the Cuban $25,000 but giving him a pass, meaning he would be able to remain in the rankings. On Ortiz return to the ring, he knocked out Daniel Martz in the second round, calling out Wilder, who sat ringside, who confirmed that Ortiz would get a chance to fight for the WBC belt. The fight was arranged for the 3^rd March 2018 at the Barclays Center and Ortiz began the fight well, on most judges’ cards taking the opening few rounds, before Wilder began to get on top mid-way through the fight and he knocked Ortiz to the canvas in the fifth round. However, Ortiz regained his composure and in the 7^th round, rocked Wilder with a huge left hand and right hook, which saw Wilder trapped on the ropes and the referee looking as if he was about to stop the fight. Wilder survived that and after recuperating in the next two rounds, he knocked Ortiz to the canvas twice in the 10^th round before the referee stopped the contest. Since then, Ortiz has beaten Razvan Cojanu, Travis Kauffman and Christian Hammer, while Wilder drew his next bout with Tyson Fury, before a sensational knockout victory over Dominic Breazeale in May this year.

Tale of the Tape – Wilder v Ortiz II

Deontay Wilder	Tale of the Tape	Luis Ortiz
41	Wins	31
0	Losses	1
40	Knockouts	26
1	Draws	0
42	Total Bouts	32
95%	KO Percentage	81%
6ft 7”	Height	6ft 4”
84”	Reach	84’
Orthodox	Stance	Southpaw
Tuscaloosa, Alabama, U.S.	Nationality	Camaguey, Cuba
October 22nd 1985	Date of Birth	March 29th 1979

Wilder v Ortiz II – Fight Preview and Tips

The first fight between these two fighters showed that both have their strengths, but also their weaknesses and that was something that was exposed, certainly in Deontay Wilder’s case, when he took on Tyson Fury in his next fight, earning a draw. Many still insist that Fury was the clear winner of that bout, despite a late knockdown, and while there is no doubting Wilder’s power punching, his first round knockout of Anthony Breazeale in his last fight was particularly stunning, Fury and Ortiz have both showed that the American does have weaknesses. Fury outboxed Wilder for large chunks of his fight, while Ortiz did the same in the early part of the fight and he also hurt Wilder with some brutal punches in the seventh, a round the American did well to get through such was the brutality of that bombardment. Ortiz will take heart from that for this fight, hoping if he can do the same again, this time he may be able to put the American on the canvas. However, Ortiz does lack the height and power of Wilder and there are question marks over the Cuban boxers fitness and there are some who feel that after at least two drugs infractions over the years, he should not be contesting for a world heavyweight title at all. Technically, Ortiz may be the better boxer compared to Wilder, as Tyson Fury was, but he lacks the same level of power in his hands that Wilder possesses. I can’t see this fight being over as quickly as the Breazeale contest, but I do think Wilder is a bit smarter nowadays and can adopt his tactics from a blitzkrieg approach, to something more measured and I am backing Wilder to win (1/7) but I think for better odds, I’d back Wilder to win by a knockout, which is a 5/2 shot with bet365.