Deontay Wilder held up his end of the deal but is in danger of being made to look a boxing fool by Anthony Joshua

Joshua would have beaten Wilder while Tyson Fury would not have taken a single punch writes Steve Bunce

Wilder was lucky not to lose to the veteran Ortiz (Getty)

Both boxers were saved by the bell, both stumbling falling and hurt at times before Deontay Wilder connected with a truly sickening right uppercut to pour a totally defeated Luis Ortiz to the canvas in round 10. Ortiz went down like a puddle, not a 17-stone man.

It was not a classic, the crowd booed at points, Wilder missed with crazy shots and Ortiz, comfortably in front, shuffled out for round 10 like a man clanking his way to the electric chair; he was just nine minutes from the glory land when he tumbled over for the first of three visits to the canvas in the tenth. It was revealed after the fight that all three judges had Wilder in front which is a disgrace.

Wilder now wants Anthony Joshua, he wants about 10 million dollars more than he got on Saturday night and he appears to want just about every advantage for a fight that is hopefully inevitable. Joshua first has to beat unbeaten Joseph Parker in Cardiff in late March, which is far from a formality. Ortiz was Wilder’s best opponent and for about eight of the 10 rounds Wilder struggled to deal with him, struggled to move his feet, effectively counter, read Ortiz’s body language: Wilder simply waited for the power and that would be an inadequate trick against Joshua. It would also be foolish and I’m beginning to think that nice-guy Wilder is a boxing fool. It makes him entertaining but so vulnerable.

Ortiz was knocked out in the 10th round (Getty)

However, his power was enough on Saturday night in front of just over 14,000 at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn in an untidy, scrappy and eventually brutal fight. It started very slowly with Ortiz able to move, flick out his jab and win the first four rounds without too much drama. It was odd to watch, Wilder retreated, missed with rights and Ortiz chugged away. The crowd was restless and rightly so - Joshua would have feasted on Ortiz, broken the Cuban’s heart with boxing sense and acquired science. Wilder talked about patience, knowing the finish would come and he is probably telling the truth, but he also needed Ortiz to gas, he needed the man opposite him to suddenly run short of desire at the same time as his punches started to land. “I will do the same to Joshua,” promised Wilder, who is an engaging man, but still after 40 wins so achingly raw.

In round five the fight started, Ortiz was clipped, cuffed and stumbled untidily over for a draining count. The Cuban exile struggled up with just a few seconds left and the bell offered salvation. It was Wilder’s first round in my opinion and he had lost the first two minutes and thirty seconds of it. Ortiz survived the sixth, Wilder missed his chance and in round seven, with his legs and arms popping crazily in all directions, Wilder was saved by the bell. He was clinging to Ortiz like a wet blanket lost in an overwhelming flood, desperate to last, but with no idea what methods to use. Ortiz had missed his chance, the fight was lost, his legs and heart heavy. Wilder just nicked the ninth - this was no heavyweight masterclass in New York but it was desperate and unmissable.

Wilder can certainly finish a fight and he did in round 10; Ortiz went down, bundled and pushed. It was ruled a slip but the Cuban took an illegal count on his knee and that is never a good sign. He was dropped again, sinking to his haunches after a right clipped his temple. Wilder had his man where he likes his men: battered and helpless. The final short right uppercut - arguably the only textbook punch he threw all night - was sweet. There was no need for a count, Ortiz was not moving.

Wilder retained his WBC belt for the seventh time, the American public now know they have a world heavyweight champion and talks for a Joshua fight will now start in private. We know Wilder has heart, he has survival instincts and we know he can hit very hard - we know the same three things about Joshua. It will be a lovely and lively few months as Saturday night’s fight in New York is reinvented as an epic and all flaws are erased. Make no mistake, Joshua would have beaten either man and Tyson Fury, once the timber is shifted, would have not taken a single punch all night. It is a fine time to be a big man in the division once ruled by giants.