Luis Ortiz: The Most Avoided Heavyweight in Boxing

By Anthony “Stacks” Saldaña

The Heavyweight division is bunch of belt holders, and I said it because, I tell it like I see it. In a division that hasn’t seen a “Super Fight” in years. The one obvious is that Luis “King Kong” Ortiz is the most avoided fighter in the division. Ortiz, who is coming off knockout wins over Tony Thompson and Bryant Jennings in his last two fights, has been ducked by the top heavyweights in the division. Fighters that includes Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, and Deontay Wilder. Ortiz easily has the ability to end the sky rocketing careers of these “so called” champions and cause nightmares for their promotional companies. Ortiz is a high risk low reward fighter that presents so much danger for the top fighters in the division that the skilled Cuban must settle on any available opposition. At 37, Golden Boy needs to secure a big fight for Luis now.

Luis Ortiz, 25-0, 22 KO’s will be defending his interim WBA Heavyweight title against the #3 ranked contender Alexander Ustinov, 33-1, 24 KO’s on the September 17th undercard of the Saul “Canelo” Alvarez Vs Liam Smith bout at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, Nevada. The 6′ 7″ Russian, Ustinov, will be looking to upset Ortiz on the biggest stage of his career in Vegas. Ustinov is 6-0 since his 2012 loss to Kubrat Pulev, but has been in against low level competition with a one sided unanimous decision over David Tua in 2013 being the peak of his career during his six fight win streak.

Unlike many of the fighters in the division Luis Ortiz has an extensive amateur background with a reported 343-19 amateur record, Ortiz was a long-time member of the Cuban National Team without succeeding at the top international level. Like most Cuban amateur stars, Ortiz got a late professional start. He brings a lot of problems for other fighters with him to the heavyweight division, problems that include being a southpaw, his discipline and his technical execution. Ortiz is not only a technically sound fighter; he also packs a punch. Out of his 25 pro fights, Ortiz has stopped 22 of his opponents. He doesn’t just punch hard, he places himself in positions to maximize his punching power and knock his opponents out. The Ortiz vs. Ustinov winner was to move a step closer to fighting the winner of the rematch between champion Tyson Fury and Klitschko, but a Fury ankle injury will surly slow that down.

Truth be told will fight fans ever see Luis Ortiz take on a top heavyweight? Probably not, Ortiz doesn’t draw a huge fan base, his lack of the English language and charisma isn’t what major cable companies are looking for, especially when fighters like Joshua and Wilder are becoming the new face of the division. Only time will tell if Ortiz will be able to secure a championship fight, and at 37, time is definitely not on his side. The sanctioning bodies must step up and recognize the best and not allow promotional companies to control what fights happen and what fights don’t. I’m not saying Luis Ortiz can’t be beat, but he’s just too much of a risk to the business of the sport. He’s too good for his own good.

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