'Registered weapon': Boxing world erupts over 'scary' KO

Deontay Wilder has cemented his reputation as the scariest man in boxing, with a vicious KO win against Luis Ortiz that has sent social media into meltdown.

Wilder retained his WBC heavyweight title with a seventh round knockout of Ortiz at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

The American looked well and truly behind in the bout against his much older and more experienced opponent but essentially only needed one punch to seal victory.

And what a punch it was.

Ortiz had arguably claimed every round after a fighting masterclass against Wilder through the first six rounds.

Wilder looked on the ropes again in the seventh until he launched an unstoppable right hand out of nowhere.

The vicious shot pierced Ortiz’s guard and caught him flush on the face, causing the Cuban to buckle onto the canvas.

It was obvious as soon as Ortiz hit the deck that the fight was over.

Viewers were left gobsmacked by the punching power of the American, whose devastating KO victory lit up social media.

“I buzzed him with the left hook and that was the start of it,” Wilder said. “Ortiz is one of the best in the world.”

Win sets up highly anticipated Fury rematch

Wilder said he needed to move in and out to set up his shots and that in the seventh, “I finally found my measurement.”

Ortiz said he was clear-headed and wanted to continue, but it was obvious he was in bad shape and Bayless undoubtedly made the right call.

It guaranteed that Wilder could keep his date with Fury, which will be a huge fight both in terms of significance within the division and financially. For a while, though, it was slipping away as Wilder simply kept the guns in the holster most of the fight.

But his power is rare even in the division where most of boxing’s big punchers have lived. All he needs is one and he showed that on Saturday when he knocked Ortiz out for the second time in as many years.

With Yahoo Sports US