By Jeff Aronow: Two-time heavyweight world title challenger Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz did easy work of Alexander Flores last Saturday night in stopping the over-matched fighter with a 1st round knockout in the headliner at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles, California. The fight card was televised on FOX PBC Fight Night.
The 41-year-old Cuban talent Ortiz (32-2, 27 KOs) showed that he’s still got a lot left in the tank with his quick stoppage of the always tough 30-year-old Alexander ‘The Great’ Flores. Ortiz landed a hard right to the body that put Flores down in a heap on the canvas.
The referee Thomas Taylor then waved it off when it was clear that Flores wasn’t going to get back up.
Luis Ortiz looked powerful and sharp
Ortiz’s fast knockout of Flores bettered the third-round TKO that former WBO heavyweight champion Joseph Parker scored against him in December 2018.
Going into the fight, the 6’4″ former Cuban national champion Ortiz had been out of the ring for 12 months since his seventh-round knockout defeat at the hands of former WBC heavyweight champion Deontay ‘Bronze Bomber’ Wilder in November 2019.
If Ortiz had fought the way he did last Saturday, he would have beaten Wilder in their two fights because he was brutal with his power shots against the game but overmatched Flores.
The southpaw Ortiz would have been back inside the ring a long time ago if not for the pandemic getting in the way of staging fights.
At the opening bell last Saturday night, Ortiz charged across the ring and tagged Flores with a big left hand to the head that had knockout written all over it. Flores took the shot, but it clear that he wasn’t going to last much longer.
Ortiz continued to nail Flores with big punches, which sent him scurrying across the ring to the ropes. Ortiz then caught up with Flores and landed a perfect right to the body that sent him down on the canvas in pain.
Initially, there was some confusion about whether Flores had injured his knee while following, but it was a case of him being in pain from the body shot that Ortiz had him with.
Ortiz has discovered the fountain of youth
All in all, it was a good performance from Ortiz, who can now start looking to face better opposition after this confidence-booster fight with Flores. Ortiz is currently ranked at #3 with the WBA and WBC, and he’s only a fight or two away from picking up a #1 ranking with both of those sanctioning bodies.
Ortiz’s management needs to put him in with a top contender next time he fights because he has a better chance of moving up the rankings. He’s not going to get pushed up to the #1 spot if he continues to face low-level guys like Flores.
Ortiz cannot afford to continue sitting out of the ring for 12 months at a time if he wants to take advantage of what little time he has left. Granted, the pandemic has gotten in the way of many matches taking place this year, but Ortiz still should have been back a long time ago.
Ortiz vs. Wilder III would be a fun fight if it went down right now, but the former WBC heavyweight champion likely won’t take that fight. Wilder hasn’t fought since losing his title to Tyson Fury last February, and he appears to be done for the year.
Frank Sanchez obliterates Brian Howard
Ortiz’s good option would be either former IBF/WBA/WBO heavyweight champion Andy Ruiz Jr or fellow Cuban Frank Sanchez (16-0, 12 KOs).
The 28-year-old Sanchez fought on the same card as Ortiz last Saturday, and he demolished Brian Howard (15-4, 12 KOs). The hard-hitting Sanchez knocked Howard down three times in the process of stopping him in the fourth round.
Sanchez showed excellent power and a wide assortment of punches. Like Luis Ortiz, Sanchez looked polished and capable of knocking out the world champions Anthony Joshua and Tyson Fury.
Sanchez knocked Howard down once in the third and twice more in the fourth round. After Howard got back up, Sanchez teed off on him until the referee Jerry Cantu stepped in and called a stop to the bout. The time of the stoppage was at 2:07 of the fourth.
It would be interesting to see Luis Otiz and Sanchez go at it. The winner would then likely move up to #1 and be able to challenge for a world title. It would be a toss-up between Ortiz and Sanchez.
The way Ortiz fought last Saturday, he might be too skilled for Sanchez, who was getting hit occasionally by Howard. The kinds of shots that Sanchez was getting tagged with Ortiz would have gotten out of the way of them. He looks like a better fighter than Sanchez.
The talented Cuban Sanchez showed that he’d got the ability to be a major player in the heavyweight division right away. But like Ortiz, Sanchez will need to fight better opposition if h wants to get pushed up the rankings.
Sanchez is too good for him to be fighting lesser opposition like Brian Howard at this point in his career. At 28, Sanchez is ready to take on the top 10 opposition.
Sanchez vs. Hrgovic = excellent fight
One option would be unbeaten Filip Hrgovic, who looked great last Saturday night in stopping journeyman Rydell Booker in a fifth-round TKO on the Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN.
Hrgovic was complaining after the fight that he wanted the top guys to fight him and sounded frustrated at his inability to get an important fight. Frank Sanchez would be perfect for the 2016 Olympic bronze medalist Hrgovic to fight.
Whoever emerges as the winner of the Hrgovic vs. Sanchez fight would be a major player in the heavyweight division.
The only question is whether the promoters for Hrgovic and Sanchez would want to make that fight, as there would risk involved.
Also, the two heavyweight fights on different networks could be an obstacle in putting the match together. Hrgovic called out Michael Hunter, Dillian Whyte, Joe Joyce, and Daniel Dubois.
Other results on Saturday night’s Ortiz vs. Flores card on PBC on FOX:
- Michael Coffie TKO 2 Joey Abell
- Carlos Negron TKO 2 Rafael Rios