As Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz continue negotiations to battle it for mandatory position for Tyson Fury’s belt, former opponent of both, Luis Ortiz has shared his view on how the fight might go.
It was only back in September that Cuban southpaw Ortiz fought Ruiz. He was put down twice in the fight and ‘The Destroyer’ went on to pick up a unanimous points decision at the Crypto.com Arena in Los Angeles.
King Kong, meanwhile, has fought Wilder twice before. The first time was in March 2018 when he pushed Wilder hard, despite being down once in round five and twice in round 10. It was in round 10 that Wilder finally managed to find an opening, however, and he put Ortiz down and out for the count.
The rematch came in November of 2019 and this time Wilder did a better job of keeping Ortiz away, eventually flattening him in the 7th round at the MGM Grand.
Speaking to Blue Blood Sports TV, King Kong didn’t hold back on how a match-up between Wilder and Ruiz might go.
“He’ll [Wilder] kill Andy Ruiz. Andy Ruiz, we need the rematch. I loved that fight. But Deontay has a strong heart, he’s like me. He wants the belts, and I want the belts too.”
At 44 years of age and having been out of the ring for almost a year, Ortiz’s fight days are most likely numbered.
For Wilder and Ruiz, it is now seven months since the WBC ordered their number one and number two ranked contenders to sort a fight date. In the last week or so, both men have reiterated their desire to make the fight happen, with August or September the most likely date.