Deontay Wilder has silenced the critics once again after his 10th round knockout of Luis Ortiz last Saturday night at Barclays Center.
The WBC heavyweight champion proved that his chin could stand up to the power of Ortiz when he survived a brutal attack in the 7th-round of the fight.
The next big challenge for Wilder(40-0, 39 KOs) is IBF/WBA heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua(20-0, 20 KOs), who battles WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker on March 31.
However, according to Wilder, Ortiz will turn out to be a tougher opponent than Joshua:
“The thing about Joshua: he’s stiff. All them muscles and stuff it looks good to look the part,” Wilder told TMZ Sports. “As far as being the part, it’s a different thing. Ortiz put his combinations together very well. He’s a slick southpaw. He’s very crafty, and he knows what he’s doing. With Joshua, he don’t have as much experience like Ortiz. It’s day and night when it comes to skills and what he could do in and out of the ring. Why do you think those guys ducked Ortiz?”
Ortiz, 38, is a southpaw with power and has excellent technical boxing skills, but Joshua, 28, is younger and might be a better finisher than Ortiz. If Joshua had Wilder in trouble as Ortiz did in that 7th round, does Wilder survive?
For now, all we can do is speculate, but if Joshua beats Parker on March 31, Wilder should be next!
