By Scott Gilfoid: Unbeaten Cuban heavyweight Luis “King Kong” Ortiz (25-0, 22 KOs) says he wants to fight for a world title against WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder when/if he gets past Malik Scott this Saturday night in Monte Carlo. It seems that the 37-year-old Ortiz is bothered by some of the comments that the hard hitting Wilder has made in the media about him.
Ortiz might want to hold off on taking on the dangerous 6’7” Wilder though, because he has a chance for a big payday against IBF heavyweight champion Anthony Joshua (17-0, 17 KOs) in 2017, as long as he doesn’t get upset along the way. Ortiz is now signed with Joshua’s promoter Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport in the UK, and it’s likely that Hearn will want to keep Ortiz in a separate lane until he can match him against Joshua for a big UK bash.
If Hearn makes the mistake of putting Ortiz with the young and talented Deontay, it could result in Ortiz getting blasted out. You have to remember that Wilder is a heck of a lot taller than Ortiz, and he’s more powerful, faster and more mobile. Ortiz is dangerous against guys that stand in one place.
If you let Ortiz get his shots off, he’s going to give you problems. Further, if you let Ortiz get in close, he’s got a nice uppercut that he likes to throw with devastating power. Wilder wouldn’t make that mistake though, because he’s a mobile heavyweight, who likes to drop his heavy bombs from the outside rather than on the inside.
“Over the next 12 months, on my list first would be Deontay Wilder, he’s talking s**t,” Ortiz said to skysports.com. “Other than that, the big names – Fury, Joshua anybody who has a belt. I definitely don’t do a lot of talking, it’s not what I do,” he said. Sometimes I get a little nervous when people ask questions, because I don’t understand. What I do is box. I don’t like to talk. On fight night, I just like to come and fight.”
Deontay wants to fight Anthony Joshua in 2017. I don’t think Deontay will waste time fighting the arguably less popular Ortiz before he gets that fight. Wilder has a title defense coming up against the winner of the Alexander Povetkin vs. Bermane Stiverne fight in early 2017. If Wilder wins that fight, then he’ll be looking to get the Joshua fight. Ortiz is not a big enough fight for Wilder to take right now. It wouldn’t be a huge fight in the U.S., because Ortiz hasn’t built a large fan base with the U.S fans.
Wilder vs. Joshua would create bigger news with the boxing public right now than a fight between Wilder and Ortiz. That could change in a few years, but Wilder isn’t going to sit around and wait for Ortiz to build a large following before he elects to fight.
Wilder is going to stay busy and fight the popular guys. If Ortiz can somehow get a win over Joshua, then Wilder will likely put him on his target list so that he can take his scalp. Right now, Ortiz is mainly known by the hardcore boxing fans in the U.S. That has got to change for him to be an appealing opponent for Deontay.
Ortiz needs to stay quiet right now, because he’s not in the position to be talking about fighting other guys right now. He’s got Malik Scott in front of him on Saturday night, and if he doesn’t win that fight, then he can forget about fighting Wilder, Joshua and Fury. Those fights will not happen. It would take Ortiz a heck of a long time for him to rebuild his career after a loss to Malik.
Let’s be real here; Ortiz is going to be 38 in early 2017, and he doesn’t have much time left. There are some boxing fans who think Ortiz looks like he’s in his 40s. Chronological age sometimes doesn’t matter. If you look like you’re in your 40s, then you might as well be in your 40s. Some fighters mature faster and their careers peter out quicker than other fighters.
That’s unfortunate, because it takes a long time to build up a large fan base and to get your shot at a world title. If you have a late star in your boxing career like Ortiz, then that hurts even worse. Ortiz was stuck in the amateur system in Cuba during his best years. Ortiz has been a pro since 2010, but he took his time unfortunately to get to where he is now.
Instead of getting with a promoter that could get him ranked quickly to fight for a world title like with Top Rank, Ortiz ended up spinning his wheels for six years as a pro. It’s unfortunate. You can argue that if Ortiz had signed with Top Rank, he’d probably already be a world champion by now, because they believe in moving their talented fighters quickly when they have a lot of amateur experience. Ortiz hasn’t been helped with his slow progress with his career, because he could have been fighting the top guys straight away after turning pro in 2010 instead of waiting until 2016.
I would hope for Ortiz’s sake that he’ll get a title shot in 2017. If not, then he needs to make a decision what to do with his career. If Matchroom Sport can’t get Ortiz a title shot, then he needs to find a promoter that will get him a title shot, because the clock is ticking with his career.
