Staples Center, Los Angeles - Heavyweight southpaw Luis Ortiz (29-1, 25 KOs) returned to the ring with a resounding victory, scoring a devastating second round knockout (2:08) of former world title challenger Razvan Cojanu (16-4, 9 KOs)
 
Ortiz landed 42 percent of his power shots (eight of 19) while Cojanu landed just two of 13 (15%) in the short fight.
 
Ortiz was emotional after the fight. He told SHOWTIME's Jim Gray that just five days ago he learned doctors have found a cure for Epidermolysis Bullosa, a disease his daughter suffers from.


 
"Thanks to God they found a cure for my daughter's disease," Ortiz said. "My wife told me while I was boarding the plane to get here. It's been hard to be away from them. I'm happy I won, but it's been really hard to be away from them."

Both fighters were coming off losses in heavyweight world title fights. Ortiz was fighting for the first time since challenging Deontay Wilder in a 2018 Fight of the Year candidate. The 6-foot-4 Ortiz wasted little time knocking out the 6-feet-7½, 269-pound Cojanu, returning for his first fight since challenging then-WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker.

BoxingScene Today : Pacquiao vs Barrios

BoxingScene Today : Pacquiao vs Barrios

Manny Pacquiao, on the heels of losing his Senate seat in the Philippines, has entered the WBC welterweight rankings at No. 5, is due in L.A. for a May 20 news conference, where his July 19 return following his June Hall of Fame induction will occur versus WBC champion Mario Barrios Jr.

Wednesday | May 14, 2025 | 00:22:57

"In my mind, King Kong has not been defeated. I don't feel I lost against Deontay Wilder. I want to fight [Anthony] Joshua, but he only fights boxers he's sure he can defeat. I'm going to ask the government to put me on disability, maybe that way Joshua will fight me."
 
In the telecast opener, Mario Barrios (22-0, 14 KOs) remained undefeated recording his sixth straight stoppage with an eighth-round TKO of Jose Roman (24-3-1, 14 KOs) in a scheduled 10-round welterweight match. Each of the judges, as well as SHOWTIME expert scorer Steve Farhood, scored the fight 80-70 in favor of Barrios at the time of the stoppage as Roman's corner didn't answer the bell for the ninth round.
 
San Antonio's Barrios relied on effective body work in dominating the fight, connecting on 61 of his 133 body shots. He connected on 44 percent of his power punches (104/239) compared to 26 percent for Roman (34/132), who had just five body shots on the night.