Review by AllTheBestFights.com: 2016-03-05, some good single shots between Luis Ortiz and Tony Thompson but it is not enough to get three stars: it gets two.The undefeated interim Wba champion Luis Ortiz entered this fight with a perfect boxing record of 24-0-0 (21 KOs=87%) and he is ranked as the No.6 heavyweight in the world (currently the #1 in this division is Tyson Fury). ‘King Kong’ Ortiz fought three times last year beating Byron Polley (=Ortiz vs Polley), Matias Ariel Vidondo (=Ortiz vs Vidondo) and Bryant Jennings (=Jennings vs Ortiz).
His opponent, the 44-year-old Tony Thompson (8 years older than Ortiz), has an official record of 40-6-0 (27 knockouts) and he entered as the No.14 in the same weight class. He fought twice in 2015 winning over Odlanier Solis (=Solis vs Thompson 2) but then he lost to Malik Scott (=Thompson vs Scott). Ortiz vs Thompson is the main event of the evening. Watch the video and rate this fight!
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Date: 2016-03-05
Where: DC Armory Washington, District of Columbia, USA
Division: heavyweight (over 200 lbs, 90.7 kg)
Ortiz’s previous fight: Bryant Jennings vs Luis Ortiz
Thompson’s previous fight: Tony Thompson vs Malik Scott
Ortiz’s next fight: Luis Ortiz vs Malik Scott
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Video: (Free embeddable video hosted on Youtube and not uploaded by AllTheBestFights, to report it please visit this link where the video is hosted)
Official highlights
I like Thompson, so I hope after this massacre he will hang them up. The Tiger had just enough left in the tank at age 44 to make this an ugly, awkward win for Ortiz, who showed more caution than you might expect against a frightened opponent’s arm punches. The fight was over from the first round knockdown, and then became a strange case of knockoutus interruptus. Two stars.
It really seemed to me as if Ortiz was trying to make it last a little longer just for the (TV) show. It could have been over after the first knockdown, but I think he deliberately hold it back. And by doing so, he exposed HBO analysts’ contradiction saying on one hand “Ortiz is so dangerous, nobody wants to fight him” and on the other “Ortiz should get rid of Thompson before it starts to raise doubts on him”… Maybe Ortiz didn’t hear Bernard’s cue correctly in rounds 4 to 6… But also, maybe now, somebody out there will be willing to try him since he “needed” 7 rounds to take care of that washed out fighter.
Great points, Olivier. As you say, HBO certainly tried to have it both ways — too dangerous to fight, yet unable to finish his man in time. I was amused by Bernard’s comments on that score: here is a man whose career was epitomized by taking his time, avoiding risk, and playing it safe.
Ortiz in post-fight comments said he was cautious about Thompson’s level of experience, yet felt incredulous about it after facing him. Something along the lines of, “How the hell did he ever beat such-and-such?”
I noted Thompson’s frequent “friendly” expressions and little playful cuffs after the bell during the fight — mitigative body language that said, “We’re all friends here.” These mannerisms signaled to me he was hoping to ingratiate himself with Ortiz upon discovering, with the first knockdown, that not only wasn’t he going to win, but he could have his head removed, too. I wonder how Ortiz read those behaviors.
You raised some very interesting questions regarding Ortiz. How can such a beast be so cautious? Oh!… I get it. He’s King Kong after all, he’s got a tender side! But more seriously, is there something we do not know about him, about his chin for example? I don’t want to start anything here, but we’ve seen many great cuban fighters with glass jaws even though it’s hard to believe there could be a cuban phenotype that curses them with such a plague. But anyway, that’s just an hypothesis and looking at Ortiz amateur record, only 13 losts in 362 fights, doesn’t shed any light on that matter.
As you mentioned in your first comment, maybe Thompson didn’t have much gas left in the tank and since his second lost against Klitschko, he has faced some very tough guys with combined records of 177-7. I don’t believe he was expecting any kind of preferential treatment but I feel as if he didn’t try to win at all, though he showed some pride (in front of his hometown crowd I guess) when he got up after the first knockdown.
Ortiz vs wilder would be kinda fascinating
Thompson always kept his hands down. Nice demolition for Ortiz. :)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ym7l5RaXc18
Ortiz found Thompson awkward and Thompson was dangerous. Ortiz still did the business 3 knockdowns the final being a KO. Thompson had good head movement and I was satisfied with Ortiz performance all round. add this to his fight against Bryant and you have 2 top 10’s that he defeated rather convincingly both KO’s
Last tango (payday) for Thompson, thank god. He had about as much intent on winning as I have of winning a lottery. best he Hank up his gloves before he
Gets hurt. The thought sees money but the brain sees old age creeping on.
A very easy fight for Ortiz because was fighting against no opposition, a walk in the park. Honestly, I don’t understand why it took so long for Ortiz to finish it. The best opportunity was after the knock down at the end of the third round. I really was expecting the knock out just at the beginning of the fourth round but Ortiz took an unnecessary rest an miss such opportunity. Anyhow, did a good work and demonstrated once again he is a powerful puncher. More body work should help in future fights, in this one almost none.
I want King Kong vs Joshua :)