In one of the better fights that can be made in the heavyweight division, American WBC heavyweight titleholder Deontay Wilder is officially set to defend against much avoided Cuban slugger Luis Ortiz. For many, Wilder will be an underdog in this fight for the first time in his career. Showtime will have the call for what is supposed to be a tripleheader.
Deontay Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) won a surprise bronze in the 2008 Olympics despite little experience in the sport. Reflecting that lack of experience and despite the medal, the Alabama native was brought up very slowly in his pro career. He fought 32 times against clubfighters, journeymen, or extremely faded ex-contender before meeting Bermane Stiverne for a shot at his first title. Stiverne survived the distance, but Wilder won his belt that night. Since then he has fought better competition, but still not the top of the division. It should be noted that he did accept a fight against Alexander Povetkin in Russia, but that that contest fell apart due to no fault of Team Wilder.
“King Kong” Luis Ortiz (27-0, 23 KOs) will represent the top of the division in this contest. King King came to US shores without being a super heralded Cuban prospect. Despite his professional success, he was never quite able to get over the hump in the crowded Cuban amateur field and therefore never competed in the top competitions like the World Championships or the Olympics. After turning pro in his early 30s, however, King Kong built his name on technical skill and knockout power. Ever since a late 2015, early 2016 four month span in which Ortiz destroyed Bryant Jennings and Tony Thompson in back to back fights, he has been largely avoided by the rest of the division. That ends in November for him at 38 years old.
This Showtime broadcast is intended to be a tripleheader with Danny Jacobs (32-2, 29 KOs) and Sergey Lipinets (12-0, 10 KOs) scheduled to meet to be determined opponents. Lipinets will be fighting for the Terence Crawford vacated IBF junior welterweight title. If they get good opponents, this will be one of the best cards of the year. In 2017, that is really saying something.
The aforementioned Bermane Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs) is scheduled to meet former title challenger Dominic Breazeale (18-1, 16 KOs) on the undercard as well, but so far this is off television. Maybe they will pair it with another fight for an internet stream or Showtime Extreme broadcast. Because of the stupid WBC mandatory situation, the winner of this fight will be Deontay Wilder’s next defense.
Source: Boxingscene.com
