Luis Ortiz: HBO and Golden Boy Back Me, Big Fights Will Come

By Victor Salazar 

After knocking out durable contender Bryant Jennings last December, heavyweight Luis Ortiz (25-0, 22KOs) has seen the buzz about him skyrocket. Earlier this month he made his 2016 in-ring return as he knocked out veteran Tony Thompson in Washington, DC.

 Up next, Ortiz will have to defend his interim-WBA heavyweight title against Alexander Ustinov. Ortiz went through a bevy of opponents for this fight but in the end it was Thompson who answered the call. It wasn’t the fight that Ortiz wanted but he says with the team behind him, he will secure a big fight in 2016.

“I got Golden Boy and Oscar De La Hoya and HBO behind me, they are going to make the fights happen,” Ortiz stated.

The hype is growing and he posed a question to the press.

“You guys write what do you guys think?” when asked if he was the best heavyweight in the world. “I’ll be back on the gym on Monday this is my job. This is what I do. I spend time with my family and then I had back to the gym. It’s your job to tell the world who the best heavyweight is.”

In beating Thompson, Ortiz was able to avenge the loss suffered by his Cuban countrymen Odlandier Solis. Ortiz, who feels Solis was a good heavyweight, was hoping fighting Thompson would teach him how exactly he beat Solis. But he says it did not.

“I wanted him to teach me something on how he was able to beat Solis,” Ortiz said. “He didn’t teach me much. I boxed a little, I punched a little. He’s got experience and that’s what carried him but I got experience at well and but I showed patience and still got the knockout."