Alexander Flores plans to topple dangerous veteran Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz and gatecrash the heavyweight rankings this Saturday.
Flores (18-2-1, 16 KOs) meets Cuban southpaw Ortiz at the Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles on November 7 in a heavyweight triple header that also features unbeaten hopes Frank Sanchez and Michael Coffie against Brian Howard and Joey Abell respectively.
Californian Flores has stepped up in class twice and fallen short against former heavyweight champions Joseph Parker and Charles Martin, but feels he could be in the right place at the right time against the 41-year-old Ortiz (31-2, 26 KOs & 2 NCs).
“Ortiz is a great fighter. He’s still one of the most feared men in the division. A lot of the people on his level don’t want to fight him. His only losses coming against Deontay Wilder says everything about his quality,” said Flores.
“Whenever you fight at that calibre that Ortiz has been at, I know you’re going to know what you need to do in training. But, the older you get, the harder it is to recover. It doesn’t get easier. Maybe his age will show up Saturday night. I thought Ortiz was beating [Deontay] Wilder in the second fight. I think he just relaxed at the 10 second mark and got caught with that straight right hand at the end of the round.
“I do think it’s possible I’m being overlooked by Ortiz. I’m just focused on what I can control. I know that one day I might not get these opportunities anymore, so I have to jump all over this one.
“Beating Ortiz will put me up with the top heavyweights. I think a win is going to definitely lead to a world title fight sooner rather than later. I’m expecting the best Luis Ortiz on Saturday night. I’m preparing for the same guy who was beating Deontay Wilder twice.”
Main image: Manny “Mitts” Murillo/RJJ Boxing.