Luis Ortiz stops Charles Martin by technical knockout in sixth round at Hard Rock

Power rescued Miami’s Luis Ortiz from a possible career-crushing defeat.

Trailing on the scorecards after absorbing two knockdowns, Ortiz rallied and scored a sixth-round technical knockout victory over Charles Martin in the main event of a boxing card late Saturday at Seminole Hard Rock Live Arena in Hollywood.

Ortiz (33-2, 28 KOs) stunned Martin with a left to the head and followed with additional power shots that sent Martin to the canvas early in the sixth. As Martin reached his feet his right glove got tangled on the ropes.

Once Martin’s glove was loosened, Ortiz pursued and pinned Martin on the ropes, where he unleashed a flurry of head and body shots. The buildup dropped Martin (28-3-1) again, and although he beat the 10-count, referee Frank Santore stopped the bout at 1:37 of the round.

“I told everyone that this fight would be fireworks,” Ortiz said. “He knocked me down but then I finished him. I respect him a lot.”

For the 42-year-old Ortiz, a native of Cuba and two-time unsuccessful world title challenger, the victory maintained his aspirations at a third championship opportunity.

Martin floored Ortiz early, sending him to the canvas with a left to the head in the first round. Late in the fourth, Martin dropped Ortiz again with a right to the head.

Undisputed super-middleweight champion Saul “Canelo” Alvarez, considered by many experts as boxing’s best pound-for-pound fighter, entered the arena between two undercard bouts and immediately received cheers from the crowd of approximately 2,500.

Ortiz’s countryman and fellow heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez also fought on Saturday’s card. Sanchez (20-0) won a lopsided unanimous decision over Christian Hammer (26-9) in a 10-round bout. All three judges scored the fight 100-89.

Earlier, Viktor Faust and Iago Kiladze knocked each other down twice in the first five minutes of their entertaining heavyweight bout. Midway through the second round, Faust dropped Kiladze a third time and referee Sam Burgos stopped the fight, although Kiladze reached his feet quickly after the knockdown. Faust was declared the TKO winner at 1:44 of the round.

In other bouts: heavyweight Jonathan Rice won a unanimous decision over Michael Coffie; heavyweight Ali Eren Demirezen scored a TKO over Gerald Washington at 27 seconds of the eighth round; light-heavyweight Atif Oberlton scored a TKO after Ernest Arnazu failed to answer the bell for the third round; heavyweights Steven Torres and James Evans fought to a draw; lightweight Frank Martin scored a TKO over Romero Duno at 2:54 of the fourth round; heavyweight Lenier Pero won a unanimous decision over Geovany Bruzon.