Former IBF Heavyweight Champion Charles Martin suffered a brutal knockout defeat in his clash with Luis Ortiz.
Martin – whose reign as IBF champ was ended by Anthony Joshua – locked horns with King Kong in California this morning.
The St. Louis Slugger got off to a fine start to the competition, leaving Ortiz with a stealthy right-hander in the first and fourth rounds.
But in the sixth badly stunned Martin left a bad straight from Ortiz, who was flanked by Cuba before falling into the ropes.
Boxing fans were quick to react to Ortiz’s stunning stoppage win, with one saying: “I hope Martin is okay. That punch stopped him.”
Another said: “He was like, ‘Did I lock my front door?
And another said: That punch from Ortiz messed up Martin.”
One commented: “He doesn’t know where he is.”
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Fans were not happy with the delay in action by the referee, with a saying: “This is a terrible, dangerous referee.”
Another said: “The referee has a stink in here.”
The pair nearly clashed again after the fight when Ortiz pushed Martin after a heated protest at stoppage.
Cooler heads, thankfully, prevail.
Moments after a close scuffle, Ortiz said: “I told you it was going to be fireworks.
“He knocked me down twice, and in the end I finished him.
“I respect him a lot. I was never worried. I just kept on replying.
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“Southpaw against Southpaw is an uphill battle, but in the end, Intelligence won it.”
Ortiz then sent a message to the rest of the stacked heavyweight division.
He added: “I have a message for every heavyweight vying for the world title: You don’t want to fight King Kong.”
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