Deontay Wilder vs Luis Ortiz rematch: Champion’s punch power is ‘ten out of ten’, claims David Haye

The American defends his WBC heavyweight belt in Las Vegas this weekend

Deontay Wilder’s punch power is “ten out of ten”, the American’s former sparring partner David Haye has claimed.

The WBC heavyweight champion defends his title in a rematch against Luis Ortiz in Las Vegas this weekend.

And Haye, who first sparred with Wilder ahead of his fight with Wladimir Klitschko in 2011, has revealed Wilder’s strengths and weaknesses ahead of the fight with Ortiz.

“He’s always been really good, he’s always been fast. He’s given me probably the most competitive rounds I’ve ever had in sparring,” Haye told Sky Sports.

“Never turned up out of shape, was willing to really let me have it, really go at me, which is what you want from a sparring partner. You don’t want a sparring partner going through the motions. You want someone who is passionate, who is really trying to win the rounds.

“The one thing you can say about Wilder, he doesn’t like giving you rounds,” Haye revealed. ”If you’re going to win a round against him, you have to really take it from him. I always really respected him, from the first sparring session I ever had with him, I knew this guy was something special.”

Wilder is undefeated in 42 professional fights, with 41 wins, including 40 by knockout.

His sole draw came against Tyson Fury last December, and while Haye thinks Wilder is one of the world’s best boxers, he thinks that fight showed that he could perhaps be a little vulnerable.

“It’s obvious his power was a massive strength and his determination,” Haye said of Wilder’s strengths. “He’s got a very under-rated chin as well. A lot of people think he’s chinny, he’s not. I’ve hit him with some massive shots. I never put him over. Shots that would put over most people.

“His punch power is 10 out of 10, that’s it. I don’t know how else to say it. You know when you’ve been hit by him. It’s very different to anyone else.

“His fight against Tyson Fury was the fight where I felt he under-performed. I know he’s a significantly better boxer. Forget about punch power and knockout specialist, just as a boxing match. Jab for jab, jab to the body, jab to the head. Just boxing. He didn’t seem his usual self in that fight with Tyson Fury.

“I don’t really see too many weaknesses, but I saw weakness in that fight. That was him not boxing to the best of his ability. Whether that was him doing that, or whether it was Fury making him box bad.

“But for me, the way he was flailing, missing wildly continuously – that wasn’t really the guy that I sparred with, who was a lot more composed, a lot more settled with his boxing.”

Wilder and Ortiz’s rematch takes place on November 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.