Luis Ortiz is making noise again. The 41-year-old (officially, plenty of people strongly feeling he is, in fact, a good deal older) will return to the ring this Saturday night when he will square off with Alexander Flores, 18-2-1(16) in Los Angeles. But “King Kong” is aiming for a big 2021.
Ortiz, 31-2(26) was last seen getting wiped out via one-punch KO by Deontay Wilder in their second fight.
This was almost a year ago, and now, against the little-known Flores, Ortiz will make his return. But though he had not scored anything like a meaningful win since March of 2019, when the Cuban lefty defeated Christian Hammer (even this win being no great shakes), Ortiz is back to his boastful best.
Speaking with Ringtv.com, Ortiz said that while he aims to get in there with “the other [elite] heavyweights,” next year, Anthony Joshua will not face him.
“Next year I would like to be in the mix with the other [elite] heavyweights and I think I deserve to be,” Ortiz told Ring. “Anthony Joshua is a pussy, and is afraid to fight me.
“I know what I can do to Tyson Fury if I got a chance to get in the ring with him. As for Wilder, I was beating him the first time and I made one mistake. I didn’t keep my left hand up, and that’s why I got hit.”
It will be interesting to see what kind of shape Ortiz is in on Saturday, whether he is fast, aggressive and powerful, or sluggish and passive.
We’ve seen both versions of Ortiz before, of course. Next year might prove to be Ortiz’s last year to make it big. That clock is ticking, that’s for sure. Ortiz says he is still as determined as ever to become a world heavyweight champion, but will he get a shot?
Has Ortiz actually done anything to earn a world title shot? The two losses to Wilder aside, Ortiz has not been in with the absolute best of the best.
Sure, fights between Ortiz and either Fury or Joshua would be most intriguing, but unless he gets into a mandatory position, why would either guy fight him?
Ortiz needs to string together two or three big wins over top-10 opposition before he can demand any title shot.
Ortiz against the likes of Andy Ruiz, or Michael Hunter, or Otto Wallin, or even Charles Martin or Oscar Rivas, would perhaps make sense. And if Ortiz could bang out two impressive wins, then maybe fan demand would see him get a shot.
But again, time is not on Ortiz’s side. He cannot afford to waste any more time by taking further low-level type fights the kind he will engage in this weekend.
Ortiz needs to get his foot on the gas.