Luis Ortiz and Zhilei Zhang comparison

If that was the case poor old Paulie Malignaggi wouldn't have been so feather fisted. His technique didn't seem to be lacking but he couldn't punch his way out of a wet paper bag.

 

Heavy handed guys tend to be very naturally big-boned. I don't mean fat here, but literally big-boned as in possessing very thick bone structure throughout their body. It helps to stabilise their joints and reduce energy dissipation at the moment of impact of their punches, which contributes to the concussive effect their punches have, and the way they're able to hurt guys with even glancing blows. Think of a swinging girder. It doesn't matter if it hits you clean on the chin or only clips you, you're going to be feeling it regardless.

 

Both got to top 5 level. Think Zhang is more dangerous but Ortiz would be harder for Fury or Usyk

Good comp. Think Zhang is a little better

 

Zhang is a better combination puncher, more powerful and more of a two handed fighter and better at pressuring when he needs to because he’s able to close off the ring and let his hands go.
Ortiz is faster and a better counterpuncher (with the backhand).

 

Zhang and it's not even close.

 

The big joke around here forever has been that Ortiz fought lions in the Roman colosseum. Ok so rhetoric aside, both guys their best selves, I kinda think they're well matched.

 

The technique is microscopic. There are tiny little differences in muscle movement that determine how much force you can move.

 

Ortiz -

Better gas tank
Better jab
Quicker

Zhang -

Better chin
More power
Much better resume now

It would be an interesting fight, Ortiz has taken massive shots from the likes of Wilder and survived, but his punch resistance is gone. If Ortiz could avoid being knocked down more than 1-2 times, he could take this by decision.

The fight wont happen, but Zhang is more proven now.

The only thing Ortiz can really say in his defence is good performances against Ruiz and Wilder, but he has no impressive wins at all.

 

Shame we'll never know with Ortiz. People often talk about a boxer's power disappearing when they fight higher level opposition, but I'd say the same thing with technique.

Ortiz looked the business against Christian Hammer and Dave Allen, but who knows how he performs in his prime after being clipped by someone at a higher level.

Look at Dubois and Hrgovic trading good shots in the first few rounds of their fight. Impossible to say how Ortiz fares in that situation because he always operated at a clear few levels below. And by that token it's also hard to say that Wilder would ever have done better than he did against Parker or Zhang.

 

Ortiz isn't and never was faster than Zhang. Both men are plodders, but Zhang is a plodder with fast hands and great timing while Ortiz is a plodder with average speed hands and a predictable one two rhythm.

 

You've misread my post I wasn't saying the 18 fights wouldn't take a toll, I was simply saying that if the Wilder fight was "maybe" the only factor in comparing Zhang and Ortiz you'd have at least a leg to stand on with your argument but fact is Zhang has surpassed Ortiz in the amateur and pro ranks in terms of accomplishments, so it's pretty clear Zhang is the superior fighter and it's not close.

 

Ortiz is better. Zhang is lucking out by fighting big names like Wilder and Joyce where one was shot to bits and the other was a plodding Neanderthal. He’s an okay fighter, but he wasn’t ****ing with a prime Wilder who wasn’t a shell of his former self mentally and physically.

 

I view Ortiz as a talent largely unrealised; so you are right that Zhang has the better CV, and if that's the metric you want to judge a fighter by then Zhang is better. I don't think their respective amateur records are the be all and end all; Joyce was a better amateur than Zhang, and Zhang was a better amateur than Parker, and we all saw how that went.

Ultimately I said I feel Ortiz is technically better as that was a subjective assessment based on the eye test; obviously anyone is free to disagree but I'm entitled to my opinion. It's also unfair to directly compare Ortiz's and Zhang's respective performances against Wilder; Ortiz fought an undefeated Wilder who still had his lustre, whilst Zhang fought an older Wilder who had suffered three defeats, two of which by KO.

 

Fury may have well beaten something out of Wilder, but Zhang always would have been a bad matchup for him.