Deontay Wilder has joked that Luis Ortiz was spitting so frequently during their first encounter, a mop to clean the ring would have come in handy.
The WBC heavyweight champion, 34, is set to defend his title against Ortiz once more at the MGM Grand, Las Vegas, on Saturday night.
Their last meeting proved an absolute classic, with Ortiz climbing off the canvas in round five to go on and seriously wobble Wilder in the seventh.
The American had never endured a more alarming crisis in his then 39-fight professional career and was behind on points heading into the final three rounds.
But with defeat looming, Wilder showed why he is one of the most fearsome punchers in heavyweight boxing history when he knocked the Cuban fighter out with a vicious uppercut in round 10.
Ahead of his rematch with Ortiz, the Bronze Bomber watched back that dramatic 10th round on FOX and revealed his opponent was spitting ?so many times? in the ring.
?I?ve hurt him, he?s fatigued and he?s ready to go. His body language, everything about him.
?Even when he?s spitting so many times. He spitted a hell of a lot of times that night, we needed a mop. But we survived.
?But during that time I knew I had him, I just wanted to move more strategically with him because I knew even if he?s hurt he?s still dangerous.?
After snatching victory from the brink of defeat last time, many have questioned why Wilder has chosen to jump back into the ring with Ortiz and risk blowing a pencilled-in rematch with Tyson Fury in February.
He is expected to get the job done, but his 40-year-old counterpart has been labelled ?the boogeyman? of the heavyweight division because he represents such a huge threat.
?I understand why other fighters do not want to fight him,? he adds.
?They talk about age like they really care about age, but they know that he?s very skilful and he?s great at what he does for his counter-punching.
?When I figured him out, that was it. I saw the big opening for the uppercut, I took it, and bam baby. There we go.?
Wilder survived the biggest scare of his career against Ortiz and was fortunate referee David Fields didn?t pull him out in round seven.
