Luis Ortiz is a 'dangerous fight' but Eddie Hearn expects Deontay Wilder to win in 4-5 rounds

Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn has predicted it will take just five rounds for Deontay Wilder to stop Luis Ortiz.

Wilder will defend his WBC heavyweight title against the Cuban on 3 March at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.

Should the "Bronze Bomber" emerge victorious in what would be his 40th professional win, he could be in line to face the winner of the upcoming title unification fight between unbeaten heavyweights Anthony Joshua and Joseph Parker, where the WBA, IBF, IBO and WBO titles will be on the line on 31 March in Cardiff.

However, Wilder has to get through another unbeaten heavyweight in Ortiz first, with many in the boxing world viewing "King Kong" as the American's biggest test to date.

Hearn, who promotes Joshua, believes Ortiz is a "dangerous fight" but expects Wilder to come through with a win. The Briton also spoke about Joshua's ability to take a big shot as he questioned whether Wilder possesses the "chin" for Ortiz's counterpunches.

"I actually think Wilder will stop him inside four or five rounds," Hearn said, as per BoxingScene. "But I think it's a dangerous fight because people talk about Anthony Joshua having a questionable chin.

"Watch the Klitschko fight back and look at the shots he took in that fight. There is no way that if Klitschko hit Wilder on the chin like he hit AJ on the chin, there is no way he would still be standing. So don't worry about AJ's chin.

"All these guys that can crack, like Wilder and AJ, they hit anybody on the chin – we appreciate it. If Wilder hits AJ on the chin, flush, it's very, very dangerous. And it's just the same way backwards. And that's the worry in the Ortiz fight, because Ortiz can punch.

"He's a very clever counterpuncher, and if Wilder wants to be sloppy in his work, he's gonna get counterpunched by Ortiz. And if he does, he can get knocked out."