By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten heavyweight contender Luis “King Kong” Ortiz (25-0, 22 KOs) hasn’t yet taken care of business yet in his fight against Malik Scott (38-2-1, 13 KOs) in their fight on Saturday and yet he’s already calling out Anthony Joshua Deontay Wilder and Wladimir Klitschko. Ortiz believes he can beat him all.
Well, we’re going to find out if the 6’4” Cuban Ortiz can beat Malik Scott on Saturday, because he’s going to be facing him on HBO Championship Boxing from the Salle des Etoiles in Monte Carlo. Ortiz is a heavy favorite to beat the 36-year-old Scott, but that doesn’t matter.
The soon to be 38-year-old Ortiz has put himself in position to get at least a fight against Joshua now that he’s signed with Matchroom Sport, the promoters for Joshua. That still doesn’t mean the fight is going to happen though.
It’s up to Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn if he wants to make the fight, and from the way he’s been talking lately, he’s not in a hurry to put them in with each other. Wladimir and Deontay likely won’t waste their time fighting Ortiz without him being a big name. There’s no upside in Wilder and Wladimir in fighting Ortiz. Joshua might get stuck doing the fight because of Ortiz being with Matchroom now, but I suspect he’s going to lose that fight.
Hearn might end up crying crocodile tears Joshua loses, because he’s probably not going to be able to sell Ortiz to the British boxing public like he’s done with Joshua, because he’s not from the UK and he didn’t win a gold medal in the Olympics like Joshua did. It doesn’t matter that Joshua’s gold medal is a controversial one. His fans believe that it was legit, so they’re willing to pay to see him fight in droves on Sky Box Office. I just wonder how many of those same fans will still want to pay to see Joshua fight if he gets beaten by Ortiz.
“I want to fight the very best and I want to be the Heavyweight champion of the world,” said Ortiz. “I’m willing to fight anyone, any champion, any place, and any time. I’m ready for anyone: Joshua, Wilder, Klitschko. I know I can beat all of them.”
Here are my thoughts on the idea of Ortiz beating Joshua, Wilder and Klitschko: I think it’s a given that Ortiz beats Wladimir. At this point, I think Wladimir has lost a lot from his game due to aging in the last couple of years, and I now see him being very vulnerable to a guy like Ortiz. I give Ortiz a great chance of beating Joshua, because he doesn’t have the wheels to get away from him. Joshua would be stuck having to trade power shots with Ortiz, and I think that would end badly for him.
The southpaw Ortiz has too many skills for Joshua, and I think he would KO him in short order. You’ve got to possess amazing boxing skills to keep put of the way of Ortiz. That’s where Deontay comes in. He’s a mobile heavyweight with long arms and one punch power. Ortiz wouldn’t be able to track Wilder down to force him into a war. It wouldn’t work for Ortiz. I think Wilder would stay on the move and jab his head off. Ortiz might even get knocked out if Wilder unloads on him with his devastating right hands.
Malik Scott is pretty much up against it this Saturday. Ortiz is going to be able to find him without any problems, and I do not see Scott being able to take his big power shots for long without getting knocked out.
“I feel I have been at my peak for many years now. I have simply been late arriving on the US Heavyweight boxing …. I have been fighting since I was in elementary school. Boxing is a very, very deep passion of mine,” said Ortiz.
I think Ortiz has gotten a late start in the pro ranks due to him spending a lot of time fighting as an amateur in Cuba. He learned a lot while in the Cuban amateur system. However, he doesn’t have a whole heck of lot of time as a pro to make things happen with his career. It’s great news that Ortiz is now with Matchroom Sport, because they have the ability to match him against Joshua if they want to. But I don’t see that fight happening until Ortiz ages a little more and is no longer a threat to beating Joshua.
Ortiz will be fighting Malik Scott this Saturday night in Monte Carlo on HBO Boxing. Ortiz cannot afford to lose this fight if he wants to stay in the running for a fight against the likes of Klitschko, Wilder or Joshua. I’m not sure if Ortiz will ever fight any of those guys even if he keeps winning, but a loss will likely mean the end of any dreams of Ortiz fighting those guys.