WBC champion Deontay Wilder says he is willing to give the unbeaten Cuban contender another shot as a failed drug test by Luis Ortiz canceled their scheduled November title clash.
Not content to sit around and wait for Anthony Joshua to make a highly-anticipated heavyweight championship unification match, Deontay Wilder wants to stay sharp and continue his knockout streak.
The WBC champion said he is willing to seek his seventh title defense against Luis Ortiz, vowing to finish the 6-foot-4 Cuban southpaw in four rounds or less.
Wilder, who was working last Friday’s FS1 broadcast, watched ringside as Ortiz knocked out Daniel Martz in the second round of their match at Hialeah Park in Miami, Florida. Ortiz leaned his head through the ropes to taunt Wilder as nearby referee Sam Burgos stopped the bout at the 43-second mark.
“Stay by your phone, Luis Ortiz, I’m coming for you. Be ready. Make sure you train hard, because I’m coming to whoop your ass…I’m gonna knock your ass out,” said Wilder, who entered the ring for a face-to-face confrontation with Ortiz.
“I don’t want no excuses when I beat him. So, I asked Ortiz when he wanted to fight, and he said he’s ready now. So I’m definitely going to pursue this fight, trying to get him to sign and be in the ring by February. I think I’ll get him in four rounds.”
Last month Ortiz was ringside at Barclays Center in Brooklyn as Wilder scored three knockdowns during a first-round stoppage of Bermane Stiverne. Ortiz was supposed to be in the ring against Wilder that night, but he was pulled from the fight after testing positive for banned substances. The Voluntary Anti-Doping Association found that the 38-year-old Ortiz failed to disclose two medications he was taking. The WBC fined Ortiz $25,000 for failing to disclose the two medications and re-instated him into its rankings.
“I’m staying on top of him as far as the drug testing. I hope he’s not dumb enough to make the same mistake again,” Wilder said. “I didn’t see anything new, but I still think he’s one of the best in the world. He showed he’s back, and I’m glad he’s back. I want to give him another chance to make this fight.”
“ I still think he’s one of the best in the world. He showed he’s back, and I’m glad he’s back. I want to give him another chance to make this fight. ” WBC Heavyweight World Champ Deontay Wilder on a future fight with Luis Ortiz
Ortiz has remained in the gym throughout the year, maintaining his sharpness through sparring sessions with Trevor Bryan and John Wesley Nofire.
“Those guys had been really good at mimicking Wilder’s height and style,” said Herman Caicedo, Ortiz’s trainer. “We were really dialed in on Wilder, but, of course, that fight didn’t happen.”
“Give me Wilder, then (Anthony) Joshua and (Joseph) Parker. Whoever wants to get it first. I want to be the unified champion before I retire, and it doesn’t matter what order I beat them in … Deontay Wilder was there, he got in the ring with me, got in my face and talked a lot of smack,” Ortiz said.
“But now, that’s done, and if he really wants it, he can get it. If Deontay Wilder’s a smart man, and his management are smart men, and anyone around him is smart, they’re not going to take that fight because he’s going to lose that belt, so he’d better be careful what he’s asking for.”
- Topics
- Deontay Wilder
- Luis Ortiz
