Ortiz started aggressively in the opening round, throwing a couple of combinations with a power right hand shot that hurt Jennings late in the round.
In the second round, Ortiz continued with his attack and had Jennings in trouble again following an uppercut by Ortiz that visibly rocked Jennings.
Ortiz seemed to have discovered after the second round that he could hurt Jennings with an uppercut as he did in the previous round. Again he launched another uppercut in the third round that found its mark, forcing Jennings to cling to him to survive the round.
Jennings seems tyo have recovered a little bit in the fourth round as he made a lttile succes with a flurry of punches that found their targets. But Ortiz stood his ground to end the round safely.
Ortiz knew he could take out Jennings with an unobstructed uppercut which he did in the fighth round with great success.
Again, a left uppercut had Jennings gasping for breath in the sixth round as he hit the canvas as the referee makes the count. Jennings got up to survive the round. But Ortiz knew it was just a mater of time as he finished Jennings with a power left and right combinations forcing the referee to halt the fight at 2:41 of the seventh round.
Clearly it was Ortiz’s uppercuts that got Jennings in trouble as he tipped his corner for a deviation in his game plan,
“There was a game plan, but when you go up in the ring you have to adapt,” Ortiz said. “I told my trainer I saw a lot of flaws in his style and one thing I noticed was he likes to lean forward. I told my trainer after that uppercuts would work,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz was a longtime amateur fighter with more than 300 fights to his credit, winning gold medals in local and international competitions.
The 35-year-old Cuban fighter is unbeaten in 23 fights with 20 wins coming by way of knockout. Ortiz is a two-time and current WBA interim heavyweight champion.
Jennings (19-1, 10 KOs) is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Wladimir Klitschko last April following his 19 straight wins since he turned pro in 2010.
“I think it was me underestimating his pedigree and me thinking that my pressure would [be better than] his pedigree, and he outlasted me,” Jennings said. “That’s how it was. He was hitting me with clean punches, good punches. Jennings said after the fight.
“I wasn’t on my game, and he got the best of me tonight. I should have tried to wear him down earlier.” he added.
With his loss to Ortiz, Jennings’ career record dropped to 19-2-0 with 10 KOs.
