By Brian Webber: Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz says he has a lot of respect for Deontay Wilder because he was the only one that had the “guts” to fight him earlier on.
The talented Cuban Ortiz (33-2, 28 KOs) was avoided by the other top heavyweights in the division, but only former WBC champion Wilder had the courage to fight him not once but twice.
Andy Ruiz (34-2, 22 KOs) faces Ortiz this Sunday, September 4th, on FOX Sports PPV at the Crypto Arena in Los Angeles.
Although Ruiz is taking on the 43-year-old Ortiz, he should have done this a long time ago rather than waiting until he was in his 40s. Did Ruiz intentionally wait for Ortiz to get old before he finally faced him?
You can certainly make an argument that Ruiz could have fought Ortiz at some point in the last 13 years of his professional career.
If Ruiz had fought Ortiz earlier in his career, he would have battled him while he was still young, and we’d have seen how he dealt with him in his prime instead of in the twilight of his career.
“I love Deontay. He’s a gentleman. We exchanged very pleasant words when he came to my gym. I love the fact that he’s there and what he’s accomplished,” said Luis Ortiz to Fighthype.
“I respect him because he’s the only one with the guts to fight against Luis Ortiz.
“This is important for me and for Andy too because the one that wins this fight will be the one that gets the chance to fight for a world title,” Ortiz continued. “It doesn’t get any bigger than that,” said Ortiz when asked if this fight would open doors for him.
“You never know what’s going to happen in a fight until it’s over. I let you guys draw your own conclusions. Like I said before, inside the ring, anything can happen,” said Ortiz.
“We don’t know. We all have a plan until we get hit like mike Tyson says,” said Ruiz when asked if the Ortiz fight is harder than his two fights against Anthony Joshua.
“You never know. The hardest fight might be the easiest fight. It only takes one punch to change the fight and the prediction. The main thing is I’m here to win,” said Ruiz. “If the knockout comes, it comes. My plan is just to be victorious.”
