Undefeated Luis Ortiz Dominates Malik Scott in HBO Boxing Headliner

The main event of the latest installment in HBO’s Boxing After Dark series was not the sort of thriller for which the cable giant and promoters had hoped. Heavyweight contenders Luis Ortiz and Malik Scott highlighted a card at the Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo, and while there were three knockdowns in the bout, it was anything but scintillating.

Ortiz (26-0, 22 KOs) pressed the action immediately, and while he was not landing anything noteworthy, Scott backed away and appeared reluctant to engage. The lack of aggression warranted warnings from the referee, but Scott continued to play it safe and tried to keep his distance while the former Cuban amateur champion followed after him.

Ortiz knocked down Scott in the fourth and fifth rounds and then felled him again in the ninth, but he was never able to finish the job. Scott (38-3-1, 13 KOs), a former two-time world title challenger, refused to engage during the final three rounds and wound up losing an almost comically lopsided unanimous decision. Ortiz won via tallies of 120-105, 120-106 and 119-106.

In the co-feature, WBA bantamweight champion Jamie McDonnell (29-2-1, 13 KOs) can thank his lucky stars, as he was the recipient of what many considered to be a gift decision. The Doncaster fighter was pressured relentlessly by former IBF super flyweight champ Liborio Solis for nearly all of the 12 allotted rounds; the challenger had tremendous success on the inside. McDonnell got his jab and body attack working in the latter stages of the battle, but Solis (25-5-1, 11 KOs) landed the harder, cleaner, more effective punches throughout. After a thrilling set of championship rounds, the three ringside judges favored McDonnell by margins of 116-111, 117-110 and 117-110.