Six of Wilder’s eight world title fights have gone at least into the eighth round and the win against Ortiz, in the 10th, underlines how he carries his power through the fight.
Aside from Ortiz, Wilder’s opposition might belong in the Hall of Tame but he has a knack of getting the job done and, unlike some heavy punchers, has shown strong survival instincts when hurt, as he was against Ortiz and Eric Molina.
Fury, also, has recovered from adversity, climbing off the canvas in 2011 to beat Neven Pajkic, a Bosnian based in Canada, and the American Steve Cunningham two years later.
On both occasions, Fury was felled by an overhand right – a shot Wilder throws particularly well. But when it came to Klitschko, Fury carried conviction and concentration into the ring and proved much more difficult to hit cleanly.
In an interview for BBC Radio 5 live a couple of months later, Fury told me how he could become “forever frozen in November 2015”, that his emphatic success against the long-reigning Klitschko might never be bettered as an achievement.
Now there is desire and ambition anew, and a win over Wilder – so soon after the comeback – would rank as another of the finest by a British boxer.
The fight is important for boxing too, the most meaningful heavyweight title contest in the US since Lennox Lewis dredged up a victory over Vitali Klitschko in the same Staples Center ring in 2003.
Promotional trailers are playing out on huge screens outside the 21,000-capacity venue and staff at the box office report that tickets are selling well. In a busy week of basketball and ice hockey at the Center, they are also expecting a sizeable “walk-up” on Saturday.
And beyond here, we are likely to be talking about a rematch or Anthony Joshua – or both – in 2019.
Great eras in boxing are defined by rivalries and the action here in Los Angeles might be the start of something special.
