By Jake Donovan, photos by Herman Caicedo
One of the benefits of being a gym rat is that you are always around for the off-chance that a surprise visitor will show up. Luis Ortiz and Juan Carlos Payano were in the right place at the right time when World Boxing Association (WBA) President Gilberto Jesus Mendoza visited the duo at Caicedo Sports Gym in Miami, Florida.
“We were there for pictures and fun,” Mendoza told BoxingScene.com of his recent trek. “Also, Ortiz (WBA interim heavyweight titlist) wanted to introduce us to his family and say thanks for all that we have done for him.”
Finding either fighter isn’t very difficult once you hit Miami. Regardless of when their next fight is scheduled, both can be found at the gym.
For Payano, it’s 24/7 as the WBA’s recognized “super” champion in the bantamweight division literally lives in a furnished bedroom at the training facility in Miami, part of the sacrifice he makes in being away from his loved ones back home in Dominican Republic.
Ortiz is a bit more flexible with his day-to-day, but trains virtually all year round. The unbeaten southpaw is coming off of the biggest win of his career, a 7th round knockout of Bryant Jennings last December in Verona, New York. The win came one week before Christmas, but there’s no time for holiday celebration when you strive to become the heavyweight champion of the world.
“Luis and Payano, they’re like two peas in a pod,” head trainer and facility owner Germán “Herman” Caicedo says of the two. “If Luis is “King Kong”, then Payano is “Mighty Joe Young.” They are always in the gym; Payano practically runs the place.
"Luis, he was here a week after he beat Jennings. Christmas came, New Year’s came, but it was nothing to him. He’s in the gym virtually all year round. He wants to take over the heavyweight division – and the way he works every day, I don’t know anyone in the world that’s going to stop him in the ring.”
Ortiz claimed the WBA interim title following a 3rd round knockout of Argentina’s Matias Vidondo last October at Madison Square Garden in New York.
The night served as his second fight back following a nine-month ban after having tested positive for a banned substance in a 1st round knockout-turned-No-Contest versus Lateef Kayode in Sept. ’11. Their bout also came with the interim title at stake, but Ortiz forfeited his claim to the belt following the aforementioned drug test results.
He’s won three straight since returning last June and even voluntarily enrolled in random drug testing for his recent win over Jennings, which marked his headliner on American cable giant HBO. Ortiz was clean to the point of fighting through a chest cold for fear of any medication showing up in drug tests, despite the option of being able to identify prescription medicine during pre-testing questionnaires.
Next up for the Miami-based Cuban southpaw is a March 5 title defense against an opponent to be determined, with the bout airing live from HBO, possibly from the D.C. Armory in Washington D.C. An opponent has yet to be assigned for his fight, although time is running out and his team is anxious to get his mandatory challenge out of the way.
Ortiz is due to face Alexander Ustinov in the opening round of a proposed WBA heavyweight tournament. As there are three boxers currently claiming to be champ – World heavyweight king Tyson Fury owns the WBA “super” title, while Ruslan Chagaev is the recognized “regular” titlist – the WBA is making efforts in 2016 to greatly reduce the number of fighters it recognizes as champion.
Whether Ortiz faces Ustinov next or one fight later won’t matter, though, as he is one of the few top boxers who prefers to fight as often as possible.
“We want to keep fighting every 2-3 months if we can,” Caicedo notes. “Maybe we get this guy (Ustinov) next, or maybe it’s Luis’ next fight. If it’s not March, then it will be June. We’re not going to be the one to hold anything up.”
As for Payano, it’s been all work and little to no play for the unbeaten bantamweight titlist. The diminutive Dominican boxer claimed the belt with a technical decision win over the excellent Anselmo Moreno in Sept. ’14. The majority of his 2015 was stalled while his team – including longtime managers Henry Rivalta and Garry Jonas, as well as adviser Al Haymon, who was brought into the fold after he claimed the title – tried to figure out the best showcase for his debut under the Premier Boxing Champions (PBC) series.
His debut came last August, helping launch PBC on Bounce TV with a 12-round split decision win over previously unbeaten Rau’Shee Warren, the only American boxer in history to have served on three U.S. Olympic boxing teams. Their bout was tightly contested every step of the way, close enough to where both camps agreed to an immediate rematch.
Plans called for their sequel to take place in November, only for Payano to suffer a hand/wrist injury that left him immobilized for most of the 4th quarter of 2015. It didn’t stop him from training – and pushing others in camp.
“I just like to stay busy, one arm or two,” Payano told BoxingScene.com while awaiting a new fight date. “I don’t want to worry about having to make weight once I have a fight. We train hard every day, so when a fight comes we focus on the game plan.”
Their rematch will likely be rescheduled for some time in March. While not at all looking past Warren – who came oh so close to pulling off the win – Payano is perhaps bit with cabin fever, as he is not only anxious to improve upon his first performance but also map out the rest of the year.
“Payano was keen to meet to ask (about) his mandatory with (WBA regular champion) Jamie McDonnell,” Mendoza noted of his champion’s eagerness to hit the ground running.
Jake Donovan is the managing editor of BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox