By Allan Fox: The World Boxing Association chairman Gilberto Jesus Mendoza has ruled the interim WBA heavyweight champion Luiz Ortiz (24-0, 21 KOs) must defend his title against #7 WBA Alexander Ustinov (33-1, 24 KOs) by June of this year.
This is a fight that Ustinov, 39, would likely have problems with because of the superior speed, punching power, athleticism and amateur experience of the 36-year-old Ortiz. Both heavyweights are big and getting up there in age, but Ortiz is still fighting at a high level right now and would have to be favored over Ustinov.
“Subject to compliance with all other applicable WBA rules and the conditions previously reference,” says Gilberto Jesus Mendoza, WBA Championships Chairman via Fightnews.com. “Ortiz must face Ustinov on or before June 19, 2016. If a purse bid is necessary, the purse bid split will be 50/50.”
There is no word from Ustinov’s management whether they’ll follow the WBA’s instuctions to take the fight with Ortiz. I’m not sure why they would. Ustinov would be better off waiting for a bigger money fight in the future, perhaps against a heavyweight champion like Tyson Fury or Deontay Wilder. A fight against Ortiz would likely not be a big enough money fight to be worth the trouble for Ustinov.
Ortiz is coming off the biggest win of his pro career last December in scoring a 7th round knockout victory over Bryant Jennings in a fight that was televised by HBO Boxing. It was a very good fight by Ortiz, and he showed in that performance that he’s one of the top five heavyweights in the division right now. Ortiz might even be a top 3 heavyweight. He would be a lot of problem for Deontay Wilder, Tyson Fury and especially the 39-year-old Wladimir Klitschko, who looks to be washed up at this point and ready to be retired in his next fight.
Ustinov was stopped four years ago by Kubrat Pulev by a 11th round TKO in 2012. Ustinov has won his last six fights, but he’s done it against lesser opposition. His promoters have been very careful with the opponents they’ve put him in with. Ustinov has taken off close 20 pounds of weight from the 305lbs he weight against Pulev, and he seems to have improved measurably. However, Ustinov is still slow on his feet, not fast of hand, and not a huge puncher. He would be likely be an easy opponent for Ortiz to defeat if that fight were to be made. I can’t imagine Ustinov’s promoters agreeing to make that fight unless they felt that it was the best opportunity for him to get a payday.
The age clock is ticking with Ustinov, and he’s not going to be able to just hang around the top 15 forever without eventually losing his skills because of the natural aging process. He needs to get a title shot sooner or later. Fighting for the interim WBA heavyweight title against Luis Ortiz probably isn’t what Ustinov and his management had in mind. The big money fight is against the likes Fury, not Ortiz.
Comments are closed.