By Dan Ambrose: Luis’ King Kong’ Ortiz says he’ll be fighting in August or September, and he’s throwing his name in the hat to be considered as the next opponent for heavyweight legend Mike Tyson.
It’s doubtful that the 53-year-old Tyson will agree to fight Ortiz because it’s too risky. Ortiz is one of the best heavyweights in the division, and Tyson is old and inactive. If Tyson failed to knockout Ortiz right away, there’s a good chance he would gas out and get stopped as he did in his last two fights before retiring.
The 41-year-old Ortiz (21-2, 26 KOs) lost to former WBC heavyweight champion Wilder by a seventh-round knockout last November in Las Vegas, Nevada. While it sounds terrible that Ortiz was knocked out in the fight, the thing is he had won all of the first six rounds.
The talented Cuban Ortiz was putting on a boxing clinic against the 6’7″ Wilder, making ‘The Bronze Bomber’ look clueless the entire time.
Ortiz to ready to fight anyone
Ortiz has been working out at his home gym in Florida, staying in shape for when the lockdown ends. He still doesn’t have an opponent Former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr. expressed interest in fighting Ortiz back in March. Yet, he’s since decided to take a tune-up fight before potentially facing him.
“You know me, and you know I am not a boxer to sit down and choose names for some convenience,” said Ortiz to El Nuevo Herald. “I’m going against whoever and whoever wants. There’s a lot of talk about Mike Tyson’s return now. If he wants, I’ll even go against him. I just need a name and a date. ”
If fans still aren’t allowed to attend fights by August or September, then Ortiz will likely wind up facing a lesser opponent. You can argue that even if fans are allowed to attend matches, Ortiz still may end up with a no-name.
Ortiz is a fighter that a lot of the top guys in the heavyweight division have shied away from Dillian Whyte had a chance to face Ortiz when the World Boxing Council ordered the two to fight in a title eliminator. Still, the British fighter took a different path.
Will top heavyweights avoid Ortiz?
Whyte recently fought an older heavyweight in 40-year-old Mariusz Wach last December, and now he’s scheduled to fight the 40-year-old Alexander Povetkin. Ortiz is roughly the same age as both of those fighters, but more dangerous. That could be the reason why Whyte passed up the chance to fight Ortiz when the WBC ordered the two to compete in a title eliminator.
Other famous heavyweights like Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury showed no interest in fighting Ortiz.
“I have stayed at home like everyone else,” said Ortiz. “But I have remained active, with adequate physical preparation. I already have my ring at home, and I do the exercises there. I have been told that I could return to combat between August or September. In any case, I will be ready. ”
Right now, Ortiz needs to stay busy while he waits for the pandemic to disappear. If this is something that stays around for years, then it’s going to require that Ortiz’s management at Premier Boxing Champions come up with fights for him behind closed doors.
Ortiz isn’t young enough to sit for three to five years waiting for the pandemic to disappear. The last two pandemics landed from one to three years. The highly skilled Ortiz will be turning 42 in March, and he can’t afford to sit out of the ring for one to throw years or the current pandemic to end.
Up until recently, Ortiz had looked impressive in winning three straight fights after losing to Wilder by a 10th round TKO in their first clash in 2018. Ortiz had Wilder badly hurt in the sixth round of that clash, but he gassed out and was stopped.
