Former world champion Barry McGuigan is backing Deontay Wilder to secure a knockout victory in Saturday's rematch with Luis Ortiz at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.

In March 2018, at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, Wilder retained the WBC heavyweight title with a tenth round stoppage of Ortiz.

But earlier in the fight, Ortiz rocked Wilder badly and it appeared that he was close to stopping the undefeated puncher.

Wilder was able to overcome the fiery storm, and came back to drop Ortiz twice in the tenth to get the knockout.

Ortiz has claimed that Wilder was saved by the ringside officials, by giving him to time to recover from the previous round - when they called for a brief timeout at the start of the eight to check on Wilder's physical state.

McGuigan believes Wilder will win again, by knockout, but he wouldn't be surprised if Ortiz rocks him again as the contest plays out.

"He had Wilder in all sorts of trouble in Brooklyn before the Bronze Bomber ultimately blasted his way out of the crisis. Wilder retains his tremendous power but his defence has not improved. He is still hitable and has not got the best chin," McGuigan told The Mirror.

"And, since Wilder telegraphs those big shots, the best fighters see them coming. He lifts his elbows every time he lines up a big punch. On top of that Wilder does not know how to close the ring down effectively. That’s why he struggled to look good against Tyson Fury. He should watch tapes of Vasyl Lomachenko. No-one makes the ring smaller.

"[This] week’s engagement in Las Vegas is effectively part of the holding pattern until the stakeholders get Wilder and Fury back in the ring. We are told February is a goer. Ideally Wilder makes a statement by knocking out Ortiz early to build anticipation. I think Wilder will find him eventually but don’t be surprised if he gets caught doing so, just like last time."