Luis Ortiz starts the new year with a bang as he knocks out Charles Martin
- Joe Hewlett
- 2 January 2022
Ortiz is now No.1 mandatory to Oleksandr Usyk's IBF crown...
Luis Ortiz twice hauled himself off the canvas to knock out 'Prince' Charles Martin in a back-and-forth heavyweight battle on Saturday in Florida.
Luis Ortiz dragged himself off the canvas twice to knock out Charles Martin in a heavyweight slugfest.
The 42-year-old Cuban delivered a devastating overhand left in round six which led to a KO win.
Luis Ortiz beats Charles Martin by TKO in the sixth round, after being knocked down twice 😤
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) January 2, 2022
(via @PBConFOX) pic.twitter.com/fpemYtOD8U
Martin had dominated the early exchanges, flooring Ortiz on two occasions. Martin - the second-shortest heavyweight champion in history - would taste a shock defeat in round six when his opponent landed a brutal left hand.
Martin immediately looked out of it.
As he fell to the ropes following more punches landed by Ortiz, the referee separated the two and Martin somehow continued to fight on.
But the writing was on the wall and he got knocked down once again only for the referee to halt proceedings.
The fight was for a mandatory spot at the IBF crown - a belt currently owned by Oleksandr Usyk.
