By Jake Donovan

Luis 'The Real King Kong' Ortiz is now just four weeks out from his next planned ring appearance. The consummate gym rat would be training even if he didn’t have a fight coming up, but remains ready for anything as his March 5 HBO-televised headliner draws nearer.

All that remains missing is an opponent.

“We still haven’t heard any new names, to be honest,” trainer Herman Caicedo informed BoxingScene.com. “We’re just waiting to see.”

Ortiz went into Friday’s training session under the impression that his next opponent was still Alexander Dimitrenko. The fight would have been his second straight on HBO and third in a row with the network’s branding, dating back to his 3rd round knockout of Argentina’s Matias Vidondo last October at Madison Square Garden in New York City, which aired live on HBO Pay-Per-View.

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Most recently, the unbeaten Cuban southpaw – who lives and trains in Miami – made a major statement in a revamped heavyweight division following a 7th round stoppage of perennial Top 10 contender Bryant Jennings. The win came last December at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York, serving as his first HBO headliner.

From the moment the fight ended, the intention was to get Ortiz back in the ring as soon – and as often – as possible. A deal was thought to be reached with Dimitrenko for a March 5 show at D.C. Armory in Washington D.C. That was until the 6’7” heavyweight from Germany (by way of Russia) and his local handlers attempted  to extort more from the pockets of Golden Boy Promotions, who serves as lead promoter for the show.

Dimitrenko’s con job was passed along through Greg Cohen, a stateside promoter who doesn’t have the heavyweight contract but served as an intermediary between his camp and Golden Boy. What was believed to be a job well done instead gave way to having to serve as the bearer of bad news.

“I was brought in to act on (Dimitrenko’s) behalf for the purpose of making the fight with Ortiz,” Cohen explained to BoxingScene.com via text message on Friday. “I thought we had a deal and expected the fight to be made. In the 11th hour, unrealistic financial demands were made and I immediately notified Golden Boy (Promotions) of the change of heart.

“To their credit, (Golden Boy) did come up with a structure to pay him more money in an effort to keep the fight intact, but (Dimitrenko) was unwilling to sign the contract. Very disappointing.”

Ortiz (24-0, 21KOs) still has waiting in the wings a mandatory defense of his World Boxing Association (WBA) interim heavyweight title versus Alexander Ustinov. That fight, however, is a non-starter for March 5, as Ustinov would not have benefited from a full training camp.

Furthermore, his team - which includes co-promoters Vlad Hrunov and Frank Warren – are confident that upon the formal ordering of the bout, they can either negotiate a sweeter deal than what is being offered for next month’s show or else force a purse bid hearing. From there, Ustinov’s team is confident of winning a purse bid and bringing the title fight either to Russia or England.

As long as they aren’t up for fighting next, Ortiz and his team couldn’t care less about the future. The goal is landing an opponent for March 5, even if it means a non-title fight for the sake of searching outside of the WBA Top 15, which has nearly been exhausted.

“He just wants to fight,” Caicedo said of his heavyweight pupil.

Assuming an opponent can be secured, it will mark Ortiz’ fourth fight in a span of less than seven months and fifth overall since last June. He previously sat out for nine months due to a suspension after testing positive for a banned substance following a 1st round knockout-turned-No-Contest versus Lateef Kayode in Sept. ’14.

He has since atoned for his past mistakes, including his underdoing random pre-fight drug testing as conducted by Voluntary Anti-Doping Agency (VADA) for his fight with Jennings. Ortiz was so committed to the program – and the fight itself – that he trained and fought through a chest cold, refusing to even take cough medicine for fear that the wrong ingredient would show up on a drug test.

If he looked that good while he was sick, it’s perhaps understandable why so many other heavyweights refuse to look his way these days. For now, his handlers can only continue to work feverishly to secure an opponent befitting his talent and the HBO viewing audience.

“[We] hope to have an agreement soon for another potential opponent,” Robert Diaz, head matchmaker for Golden Boy Promotions updated BoxingScene.com via text, though without getting into specifics as the preference is to not negotiate through the press.

The good news is that beyond March 5, Ortiz’ future will include a slew of notable fights. The WBA has ordered a tournament with the purpose of consolidating its heavyweight titles. His first round opponent will be Ustinov, with the victor going on to face the winner of the forthcoming rematch between recently crowned World heavyweight king Tyson Fury and dethroned Wladimir Klitschko.

The winner of that string of fights will then go on to face the last man standing from the other side of the bracket. A two-fight set begins with WBA “regular” heavyweight titlist Ruslan Chagaev facing unbeaten Lucas Browne – fittingly, also slated for March 5 from Grozny, Russia and having recently been picked up by American cable outlet A Wealth of Entertainment (AWE TV, formerly Wealth TV).

That winner will then face Fres Oquendo, who previously dropped a controversial decision to Chagaev in July ‘14 and then successfully sued his way back into the title picture based on circumstances surrounding that event.

“At this point, I don’t even want to tell people he’s looking good in the gym,” Caicedo quipped. “But that’s just who King Kong is. He and his little buddy, (unbeaten bantamweight champion Juan Carlos) Payano – they’re at the gym every day. It’s who they are, they’re always ready for anything.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox