Luis Ortiz Mashes Up Charles Martin in Six!
In very much a ‘must-win’ bout, heavyweight boxer Luis “King Kong” Ortiz (33-2, 28 KO’s) knocked out former world champion “Prince” Charles Martin (28-3-1, 25 KO’s) in six hard rounds. The bout was a PBC/FOX pay-per-view which aired live from the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino located in Hollywood, Florida in a IBF heavyweight title eliminator.
Ortiz entered the bout one fight removed from his second professional loss at the hands of Deontay Wilder. In that last match, King Kong returned to the win column by stopping Alexander Flores in the first round of their dustup. In against Martin, it was imperative that he not only win but look good in doing so. Thankfully for the often avoided Cuban southpaw, he was successful in both endeavors.
Ranked #6 (WBC), #10 (IBF) and #15 (WBO), King Kong will look to position himself to force a title fight in 2022.
As for Martin, this is colossal defeat which also snapped a three-fight win streak. It must be extra bitter because Martin performed so well in his first contest in nearly two full years. With this fresh knockout it is unclear what Prince Charles will do from this point.
KING KONG LIVES!
After getting off to a fairly beneficial start, Ortiz was dropped by a chopping overhand left high on the back of the head. Despite going down, King Kong hopped up easily and treated the sequence as though it was a flash knockdown. Understandably, Martin emerged from the corner with far more confidence in the second. By the second half of the round, Ortiz was back pressing the action. The Cuban punctuated the shift in control with a few thumping left hands.
King Kong would be charged with another knockdown in the fourth. When stepping in with a punch of his own, Ortiz ran into a stiff jab that caused him to lose his footing. Even though he got up without effort, the damage on the scorecards was already done.
Then in the sixth round, the fight took a stunning turn of events when Ortiz badly hurt Martin with hard left to the temple. King Kong immediately hopped on Prince Charles and pummeled him along the ropes. In fact, Martin bizarrely got his arm tangled and trapped in the ropes.
After being freed from the ring straps, Martin would continue fighting on seriously compromised legs until Ortiz dropped him again. This time, referee Frank Santore Jr had seen enough and called a halt to the action.
Naturally, Martin was angered by the decision. A second brawl almost started when Prince Charles went to complain directly to Ortiz and was promptly shoved for his trouble. Thankfully, cooler heads prevailed and nothing further transpired. This was a greatly needed clutch victory for Luis Ortiz. It will be revealing to see what bout King Kong can secure next.
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By: Bakari Simpson
