A super welterweight boxing event hailed by the media as "the first fight of the year"—— The battle between Virgil Ortiz Jr. VS Frederick Lawson came to an end in Las Vegas, USA at noon Beijing time today (January 7), and the 25-year-old heavy gunner Ortiz took only 1 round to knock out his opponent in the clash with African Ghanaian fighter Lawson, winning the first victory away from the arena for 17 months, and successfully made a comeback.
01
Ortiz was once a rising star in the 147-pound welterweight division, but due to injuries and other reasons, the competition density has been extremely low in recent years, and at the same time, he has not been able to effectively control his weight, so he has been promoted to the 154-pound super welterweight division, but even so, Ortiz is still overweight, reaching 156 pounds when weighed.
Ortiz was aggressive from the start of the fight, but he looked a little sluggish due to being away from the ring for too long, but Lawson was too mediocre to pose a threat to Ortiz.
The 34-year-old Lawson is only ranked 100th in the world overall, and it is not difficult to imagine his strength, so that after a few back and forth, Ortiz easily controlled the situation, opening the way with a jab in the front hand, and following up with a heavy punch in the back hand, and when he was only halfway through the round, his right hand hit the target many times, Lawson looked very difficult, and the two sides did have a gap in overall strength, and it was only a matter of time before the contest ended.
02
With more than half a minute left in the first round, Otiz hit a forehand punch in the confrontation that hit the back of Lawson's ear and the back of the head, injuring his opponent, Lawson was a little sluggish, which was a dangerous sign, and Ortiz seized the opportunity to pounce on him, forcing his opponent into a corner, and the combination punches continued to strike, several of which hit Lawson's body.
Just as the crowd was watching with relish, referee Wicks suddenly jumped out and stepped forward to stop the fight, and the confrontation was over! The fans were obviously very dissatisfied with Wicks's decision, and the scene was booed, and Lawson was also quite unhappy after the defeat, and his team protested to Weeks, and Weeks stood there like a mascot with a harmless appearance.
Slow-motion footage shows that Lawson did get a few punches, but his mind was still clear and nothing was a big deal, and Wicks pounced on it to stop the fight, which was obviously a bit far-fetched, and it can only be said that the referee's performance greatly diminished what could have been a more exciting contest.
03
Wicks is an experienced referee who has officiated 879 games, but unfortunately he is not "highly respected", because some of his practices have been questioned in some previous matches, such as the 2017 Andy Ward vs Sergei Kovalev rematch, Kovalev's team criticized Wicks for his "inaction", arguing that Weeks turned a blind eye when Ward repeatedly performed low strikes.
Not to mention, Weeks was also criticized for prematurely terminating the game when he officiated Rolando Romero vs Ismael Barroso in May last year, when Barroso led all the way, but after being boxed in the 9th round, Wicks stepped forward to end the confrontation, so some fans wondered if he bet on Romero? This time he was ridiculed as buying a "lottery ticket" for Ortiz to win in 1 round.
04
After beating Lawson, Ortiz maintained his 100% knockout rate, rewriting his record to 20 wins and 20 knockouts, while Lawson's record changed to 30-4 and 22 knockouts. Ortiz was a little helpless in an interview after the fight, admitting that he wanted to fight a few more rounds, and the fight was over, while revealing that he hoped to challenge WBO super welterweight champion Tim Zyu.
Since Ortiz's fight to destroy Lawson was too short, and the opponent's strength was mediocre, it really can't prove anything, and it is unclear whether Ortiz will continue to improve himself through the adjustment match?