By Allan Fox: Former Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz (32-2, 27 KOs) is predicting a knockout win in the first two rounds of Charles Martin (28-2-1, 25 KOs) in their fight on Saturday night at the Seminole Hard Rock Hotel and Casino, Hollywood, Florida.
Ortiz weighed in at 243 1/4 lbs on Friday at the weigh-in and looked in excellent shape for a 43-year-old.
For his part, the 35-year-old former IBF heavyweight champion Martin weighed in at 246 1/4 pounds and looked a little soft in the midsection. That’s how he always looks, though, so it shouldn’t impact his performance.
In co-feature weights, unbeaten heavyweight contender Frank Sanchez (19-0, 13 KOs) weighed in at 239.25 lbs, and his opponent Christian Hammer (26-8, 16 KOs) weighed in at 264.8 lbs for their 10 round fight.
Sanchez, 29, is hoping to get a title shot in 2022 against one of the champions in the division, but we’ll see. It’s not particularly promising, but he can always hope.
Luis Ortiz predicting a “war”
“The war is forecasted for Saturday night, and the most difficult part is the wait,” said Luis Ortiz. “This fight is going to end with one punch, and I don’t think it’s going to be me because I’m coming in with bad intentions,” said Ortiz.
“In what round? It can be the first or the second. All I know is I’m carrying out the game plan. My dream is to be a champion, and I still have it clear in my mind. It’s ending in a knockout. That’s my prediction.
“This fight isn’t going to go 12 rounds. It can’t go 12 rounds,” said Charles Martin. “Whatever he’s willing to offer me, I’ll have an answer for because that’s what we train for, the best Ortiz.
“This is the most important fight of my life,” said Martin. “It’s life or death for me. That’s how I take it. I like that because I’m not afraid.
“King King Ortiz looks very confident,” said Lennox Lewis in reacting to how Luis looked at the weight-in on Friday. “Charles Martin looks serious. You heard him say, ‘The fights not going the distance. When people say that, I usually take them at their word because it’s going to be embarrassing if it doesn’t.
Charles Martin agitated at weigh-in
“Everything, we’ve been working our whole lives for this very moment right here. So I’m going to take full advantage and get the job done,” said Charles Martin when asked what the fight means to him.
“Ever been, for sure,” Martin said when asked if this is the most motivated he’s ever been. “Explosion,” said Martin on what’s going down on Saturday night.
“I’m not worried about all that. I’m just worried about that right here. No more talking. We’re going to let the fists talk for themselves. No more interviews, no more talking. It’s time to get down. It’s time to get the f*** down, did you hear me?” said an agitated Martin.
Hopefully, Martin can concentrate on Saturday night because he seemed angry during the weigh-in, and not in a good place mentally.
“I told him, ‘You thought fighting against me was going to be easy. You got second thoughts coming,'” said Luis Ortiz when asked what he told Martin during their face-off.
“No, this fight will not go the distance. It’ll end by knockout. I’m very focused. It’s good that it’s in the city, but that’s nothing when you go in the ring and fight.
“Yeah, let’s see if he stands toe-to-toe with me, and you’ll see tomorrow in the ring. We’ll see what happens. King Kong is ready and there’s going to be a knockout in the ring,” said Ortiz in predicting a stoppage on Saturday night.
