Good news, everyone! It has been no secret for a while now that Deontay Wilder would prefer his next title defense to be against the widely avoided Cuban slugger Luis Ortiz. The issue here, however, is that Wilder has been instead ordered by the WBC to defend his belt in a terrible fight against Bermane Stiverne, a man Wilder already easily defeated. Thankfully, it is being reported that Stiverne is close to consenting to step aside to allow the bigger fight.
Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) and Bermane Stiverne (25-2, 21 KOs) met in January of 2015 in Wilder’s first title fight. Though Stiverne became the first and to this day only man to make it the distance with Wilder that night, he lost nearly every round along the way. Why the WBC wants this rematch at all is beyond any logic. Stiverne fought later that year in November, scoring a pretty lackluster and all too competitive win over career journeyman Derric Rossy. He hasn’t fought since as we close in on two years later.
Luis Ortiz (27-0, 23 KOs) would be an entirely different beast. The technically skilled Cuban power puncher has been considered one of the most avoided fighters in the sport for a couple years now. A fight between Wilder and Ortiz is one of the best that can be made at heavyweight. Here is to this fight coming off without a hitch.
If the fight does happen it is being penciled in for November 4th at the Barclay’s Center in Brooklyn as a Showtime card. As part of the deal, Stiverne would fight a “reputable heavyweight” as the co-feature and the two winners would meet in 2019. Who that would be exactly is up in the air still.
Source: ESPN’s Dan Rafael
