Deontay Wilder KO’d Luis Ortiz at 72-76 percent health, reveals trainer Jay Deas
Deontay Wilder impressively knocked out Luis Ortiz last Saturday. His trainer/manager, Jay Deas, reflects on the fight and Wilder’s performance.
Deontay Wilder faced his toughest opponent in Luis Ortiz last Saturday. He was hurt in the seventh, but he came back to put down Ortiz twice in the 10th. His last knockdown finished Ortiz off. FanSided caught up with Wilder’s trainer/manager, Jay Deas, to get his take on the fight.
When asked if the fight went according to plan, Deas responded, “It did until the seventh round.” He added, “The gameplan was to not take unnecessary risks, especially with the right hand until we wore Otiz down a bit because his left-hand counter is so strong.”
Wilder made it out of the seventh and stabilized himself in the eighth. It was Wilder’s plan to wear Ortiz down for the later rounds which proved wise.
“We figured after we wore him down we would trade our right hand for his left hand because we get stronger and stronger and he would get worn down,” Deas said.
Most boxing pundits agree that Wilder proved his championship pedigree by knocking out Ortiz, but some critics feel that the fight proved that Wilder is too undisciplined and vulnerable. Deas believes that Wilder handled Ortiz’s best shots well.
“Deontay got hit with a great shot, but he never quit problem-solving,” Deas said. “He was never out on his feet. He was getting hit with some tremendous shots from a great fighter, but he was trying to jam him, trying to clinch him, hold him, buy time. There were a lot of things he was doing that I’m glad he did.”
Wilder’s ability to survive Ortiz’s onslaught and then knock him out is even more impressive considering what Deas revealed. In his prefight interview with Jim Gray, Wilder attributed his low weight to an illness. He weighed 214 pounds for his fight with Ortiz.
When we asked Deas about Wilder’s comments to Gray, he tried to respond, but he couldn’t because he started coughing excessively.
When his throat cleared, Deas said, “The cold you’re hearing right now is the one he had.
“I was surprised he told Jim [Gray] that because I didn’t want that out. He caught a pretty nasty cold about a week and a day before the fight.”
In terms of Wilder’s health entering the ring against Ortiz, Deas said that Wilder was mostly recovered from his cold, but not entirely.
"As the week went by, he [Wilder] was getting better and better. Just because your cold is leaving you doesn’t mean you’ve got your strength all the way back. In reality, he was at 72-76 percent by the time he got in the ring. You could tell during the week that he was getting his strength back but he wasn’t going to be 100 percent back. He was not fully, fully recovered. He was still coughing stuff up in the dressing room before the fight."
Deas admission that Wilder wasn’t at full strength makes his victory over Ortiz even more impressive.
With Ortiz out of the way, Wilder has his sights set on a title unification bout against Anthony Joshua. Joshua’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, has avoided directly stating that they are looking to unify the title against Wilder.
In October of 2017, Hearn told Boxing News that he offered Wilder a bout against Dillian Whyte for a purse over $3 million. Wilder turned the bout down and fought Stiverne, who replaced Ortiz after he failed a drug test.
If Hearn refuses to offer Wilder a unification bout in the summer against Joshua, he might again offer Whyte. However, Deas is weary of Hearn’s negotiating strategies. He also said that Hearn’s previous claims about offering Wilder three million to face Whyte were fictitious.
“No, I never saw that,” Deas said. “I didn’t hear anything like that. They [Hearn and Joshua’s team] say a lot of things. A lot of guys do things for publicity. It’s not always the sweet deal it appears to be.”
On the possibility of being offered Whyte again, Deas said, “To me, that would be pure arrogance. That would be them saying, ‘fight our second-level guy to prove you’re ready for our first guy.’ Let’s get the two A-listers in there and give the fans what they want. How hard is it?”
It’s clear that Wilder and his team are anxious for a fight with Joshua. Deas believes that it isn’t up to Hearn to negotiate the deal, but rather it’s up to Joshua to demand a fight with Wilder.
“Does Joshua work for Eddie Hearn or does Eddie Hearn work for Joshua?” Deas said. “I think Eddie Hearn works for Joshua. If Joshua says, ‘I want Wilder,’ then it will happen. That’s the bottom line. Joshua needs to stand up and tell his team what he wants.”
Next: Canelo blames tainted meat for positive PED test
If a fight is made between Wilder and Joshua for the summer, Las Vegas or London are likely landing spots for the fight. Wilder and Deas have no preference where the fight is held. They are just adamant that the fight is made.
“We would fight him [Joshua] on the moon,” Deas said. “We’ll fight him at the Kentucky Fried Chicken drive-thru. We’ll fight him at Dairy Queen. We’ll fight him at IHOP. It really doesn’t matter to us.”
Fight fans will have to wait and see if a blockbuster fight between Wilder and Joshua gets inked for this summer. Wilder did his part. Now, Joshua needs to get past Joseph Parker on March 31.