Luis Ortiz Ready For Ustinov, Waiting On Next Available TV Date

By Jake Donovan

Luis Ortiz and his handlers will feel much better about moving forward with plans to face Alexander Ustinov once they hear the news firsthand.

For now, it’s comforting enough for the reigning interim heavyweight titlist to know that the yet-to-be-scheduled bout won’t land in the hands of another promoter.

“I’m going to be honest, the first we heard that a deal was reached was when we read about it,” Jay Jimenez, Ortiz’ manager informed BoxingScene.com on Thursday evening. “But it doesn’t matter. Luis is always ready for any opportunity that comes his way. We will be ready for whenever Golden Boy Promotions (Ortiz’ promoter) is able to secure a date.”

Ortiz and Ustinov were ordered to meet as part of the World Boxing Association (WBA) heavyweight title consolidation tournament – Ortiz is the recognized interim titlist, while Ustinov serves as his mandatory contender. The sanctioning body ordered the fight in April, with the two sides granted a 30-day free negotiation period before the bout would be subject to a purse bid hearing.

It appeared destined for such a setting, as Ustinov’s team – which includes co-promoters Frank Warren and Vlad Hryunov – were confident of winning a purse bid and bringing such a fight to either England or Russia.

However, talks dramatically progressed in a span of less than 48 hours, with the WBA – initially prepared to call a purse bid hearing for May 19 – reversing course and declaring that Warren and Hryunov were able to work out a deal with Golden Boy Promotions.

A date has yet to be set for the bout, presumably to land on HBO given Ortiz’ growing relationship with the American cable giant which has showcased his last three bouts through its flagship station and its Pay-Per-View arm.

Ortiz (25-0, 22KOs) – a Cuban southpaw who lives and trains in Miami - first appeared on an HBO-affiliated event last October, scoring a 3rd round knockout of Argentina’s Matias Vidondo to claim the interim title. The feat took place at Madison Square Garden in New York City, coming on the PPV undercard of Gennady Golovkin’s 8th round knockout win over David Lemieux in their middleweight title unification clash.

Two successful defenses of the heavyweight belt have followed, both ending in knockout and in HBO-televised main events. Ortiz made a big splash in HBO’s final telecast of 2015, scoring a 7th round knockout of Bryant Jennings last December at Turning Stone Resort & Casino in Verona, New York. Three months later came his most recent performance, a 6th round stoppage of Tony Thompson on the road in Washington D.C.

The latter win gave Ortiz four fights in the span of nine months following a suspension after having tested positive for a banned substance in a win-turned-No-Decision in his Sept. ’14 meet with Lateef Kayode. Despite having since celebrated his 36th and 37th birthdays, Ortiz’ handlers prefer to keep the heavyweight as active as possible, as shown in his hectic schedule upon returning to the ring last June.

The hope was for Ortiz to land a slot on the recent May 7 PPV event topped by Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez’ 6th round knockout of Amir Khan at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. However, those plans fell through as Ustinov’s team deliberately stalled during negotiations.

It was to be expected, as Ortiz had twice attempted to land a showdown with Ustinov (33-1, 24KOs) - a 6’7½” Russian behemoth who is now based out of Belarus – only to be left with voluntary defenses while still required to satisfy his mandatory.

The stall tactic came only because Ustinov’s handlers had a deadline in place, with the WBA requiring the fight take place no later than by the end of June.

However, the agreement reached between camps came with the understanding that the fight was contingent upon network availability. HBO will likely provide a date in the U.S., with Warren’s BoxNation likely to secure TV rights in the United Kingdom.

Ustinov has won six straight following the lone loss of his career, an 11th round stoppage at the hands of Kubrat Pulev in their Sept. ’12 semifinal eliminator.

In effect, his forthcoming clash with Ortiz is a semifinal eliminator as well, given that the structure of the WBA tournament requires three wins in order for the last man standing to be crowned the sole heavyweight titlist in the eyes of the sanctioning body.

The Ortiz-Ustinov winner will go on to face whomever emerges victorious in the July 9 rematch between World heavyweight king Tyson Fury and Wladimir Klitschko, whom Fury dethroned last November.

From there, the heavyweight on that side of the bracket will face the winner of another rematch. Fres Oquendo will face Ruslan Chagaev, who will be reinstated as WBA “Regular” champion following a knockout loss-turned-No-Decision versus Lucas Browne, who reportedly tested positive for Clenbuterol stemming from their title fight this past March. 

Regardless of how all of that shakes out, Ortiz and his team are fully prepared to run the tables and be left as the recognized World heavyweight champion.

“One thing we can always assure, King Kong is ready no matter when Golden Boy tells us we are fighting,” Herman Caicedo, Ortiz’ head trainer pointed out to BoxingScene.com. “He’s always in the gym and in shape. If they tell us we have to wait until late July or early August, we’ll map out a plan for that time frame.

“If it’s sooner, then bring it on. We just want to fight and keep moving towards taking over the heavyweight division.”

The sentiment is shared by Ortiz’ management.

“We’d love to fight in June if we can,” Jimenez states. “He was ready to go in May, but that couldn’t happen for obvious reasons. But even if it’s not the next month or so, we want to get this guy on the first date HBO has ready for us.

The WBA has done its part, pressuring them to go through with the fight. We just want to follow their rules, participate in the tournament and prove to the world that Luis ‘King Kong’ Ortiz is the best heavyweight in the world.”

Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Follow his shiny new Twitter account: @JakeNDaBox_v2