Both Ortiz and Povetkin won confortably on points against Hammer. wouldn't mind seeing the both of them go at it. Povetkin is so much more explosive than hammer, and his offensive arsenal of punches is way more diverse than Hammers.
Not surprised Hammer went the distance, he's pretty durable, people expecting an easy KO were either underestimating Hammer or don't understand Ortiz isn't the type to pressure and grind you down. Durable guys who can ride out the odd big shot from Ortiz can last a while or go the distance because Ortiz fights at one pace and doesn't raise the intensity enough to force a stoppage against durable types or guys looking to just survive. Ortiz/Povetkin would obviously be an awesome and very competitive fight. I favour Povetkin but don't see this fight ever happening.
Hammer is very durable and experienced enough to survive in there with the best. He's no world beater but better than given credit for. I'd like to see Ortiz in with someone like Whyte next but realisticly as no-one in the top 10 wants to fight Ortiz apart from Wilder, we'll most likely see him in with someone Kevin Johnson next.
I thought Hammer did better against Ortiz than he did against Povetkin. With Povetkin he just looked to survive and was used as a sort of mobile heavy bag for ten rounds. With Ortiz Hammer looked to really fancy his chances and was catching Ortiz with a lot more leather, even bloodying his nose. Both decisions were the right ones, but Ortiz looked very limited and one-dimensional in his win, and didn't have things all his own way.
Hammer's not just durable, he's pretty cagey and game, even against fighters he's outgunned against. He takes a shot well, blocks shots well on the gloves, and throws enough back to not allow you to just come forward and unload on him. Every time Ortiz tried to up the pace Hammer fired back with straight rights to the body and head. Every time Ortiz tried to invite him in to catch him on the counter Hammer didn't take the bait, or was ready with a counter of his own. He wasn't always successful in this regard, but he did enough to make Ortiz second guess and took away something of his come forward swagger. I'd love to see Ortiz vs Povetkin, though at this point I'd rather see Ortiz vs Joyce. That's a winnable fight for Joyce right now, and one which needs to happen sooner rather than later.
Seemed to me Hammer landed a good shot forcing Ortiz's knees to buckle and for him to touch a glove on the floor which was wrongly ruled a slip by the ref. Add to that Hammer gave Ortiz bloody nose. Imagine if Ortiz allowed the likes of Povetkin and Whyte to land the amount of punches Hammer did? It would end in a KO. As Its Ovah said Ortiz really did look one dimensional and a limited fighter. People need to stop putting him in the bracket quality of Povetkin, Pulev, Whyte and Parker.
I watched a pretty bad vid of the fight but it did look like Ortiz might have been dropped at one point. Flash KD, but still. One thing that led me to making the statement I made was how easy Ortiz looked to hit and how little he did to alter the dynamic. In fact it was Hammer that seemed to be making the adjustments in the later rounds, while Ortiz just upper the pace slightly. Aside from the jab and left hand, Ortiz doesn't seem to have much in his arsenal these days, although ironically he still looks pretty fast and mobile for his age.
I don't know what you're talking about. That was no knockdown. You can watch the replay. Hammer didn't really land much. He tried to counter with right hands and Ortiz was blocking them with his left hand. The announcer was oblivious to the punches not being clean. Ortiz has dimensions too. He has a great punch variety and can jab, attack or counter. Povetkin might beat Ortiz. Pulev has a chance. Parker and Whyte, no. Whyte takes more punishment in every one of his fights.