As soon as Luis Ortiz’ quote from a recent media day hit the internet, I could almost hear the memes being put together.
“I’m always trying to reach the top of the mountain,” said the Cuban heavyweight contender, who faces Andy Ruiz Jr. this Sunday in Los Angeles. “I want the top prize. This is a very important fight for me, but so is every fight. They all get me closer to another world title shot. It’s all about training, training and more training. I feel better now than I did when I was 25.”
Go ahead…you could go for the one that Ortiz is so old he tried to climb up Mount Everest with Sir Edmund Hillary and Tenzing Norgay in 1953. Or maybe play off the existing meme of heavyweight great Jack Johnson training in 1909 with a sparring partner who had Ortiz’ face photoshopped on his body. That one was a viral post Tyson Fury even re-sent to his followers it was so good, with the point being that the Camaguey native is the oldest looking 43-year-old in the world.
And it is funny, if a little insulting, especially if Ortiz truly is 43 years old, but whether he’s in his early 40s or early 50s, as some claim, the bottom line is that this weekend, the boxing world will be watching him again – on pay-per-view, no less – in a fight that could very well put him in the title picture once more should he win. And winning is most certainly the plan for “King Kong”.
“Training camp is winding down and it’s exciting,” he said. “We’re just waiting for camp to be over and for fight night to begin. My objective is always the same and it doesn’t change. I’m trying to do whatever it takes to beat my opponent.”
That opponent remains one of the mysteries of the modern heavyweight era. A former heavyweight champion who took the belts from Anthony Joshua in 2019 at 268 pounds, lost them back to the Brit at 283 ½ six months later and then returned to the ring in May of last year at 256 to win a clearcut decision over Chris Arreola that nonetheless saw him hit the deck in the second round, the Californian is known more for being a “one-hit wonder” with weight issues than a talented boxer-puncher with deceptively fast hands and the skills to beat anyone in the division when he’s on. That’s unfortunate, and while heavyweights never seem to run out of chances at the top level, losing to Ortiz would put a dent in Ruiz’ future plans, and the Cuban knows it. So he’s preparing for the Ruiz of the first Joshua fight.
“I have studied Andy from top to bottom,” Ortiz said. “If I don’t knock you out with one punch, then I’m just going to chip away at you until you can’t go anymore. As of right now, we’re preparing for the best Andy Ruiz. We know that he’s not just any fighter. He’s a former world champion and that doesn’t happen by luck. I’m ready for him and may the best man win.”
They’re the words of a man who has seen, and almost done it all in the sport. After compiling a reported 343-19 amateur record, Ortiz made his pro debut in 2010, winning 28 of his first 30 bouts, with the two no contest blemishes coming when Joseph Rabotte fell out of the ring in their 2013 match and couldn’t continue, and when he failed a drug test attached to his first-round stoppage of Lateef Kayode in 2014, costing him the interim WBA heavyweight title.
Boxing has a short memory, though, and nine months later, Ortiz was back in the ring. Seven wins later, and he had his shot at Deontay Wilder’s WBC crown. The March 2018 bout was a memorable one, with Ortiz pushing Wilder to the limit before getting finished in the 10th round. At the time of the stoppage, Ortiz trailed by just one point on each judge’s scorecard despite being on the receiving end of a fifth-round knockdown. He rallied in the seventh, earning a 10-8 round on all three scorecards, but two trips to the canvas ended his night. Yet despite his age and the loss, everyone assumed he would be back in contention sooner rather than later.
He actually never left. A trio of wins over Razvan Cojanu, Travis Kauffman and Christian Hammer earned him a second shot at Wilder in 2019 and, this time, “The Bronze Bomber” didn’t have to go into too many dark places to finish matters with a single right hand in the seventh round. It was the kind of punch that would have ended anybody’s night, and couple that with being competitive throughout, and Ortiz still had a “Get Out of Heavyweight Purgatory Free” card.
A year later, Ortiz needed only 45 seconds to halt Alexander Flores, then he sat for another year and change before a New Year’s Day bout against Charles Martin in Florida. On paper, it was a loser leaves town match; in reality, it was an entertaining scrap, with Ortiz going down twice before dropping Martin two times in the sixth and forcing a stoppage at 1:36 of that round.
“I got good experience from fighting Charles Martin,” said Ortiz. “There were some hiccups in the fight, but I’m going to carry the lessons that I learned into this fight.”
Two trips to the canvas are more than hiccups at Ortiz’ age, whatever that may be, and it could be a sign that while the punch and the Fight IQ are the last things to go, the chin is the first, and he’s had his dented. But is Ruiz the one to finish the job and put a cap on quite an interesting career?
Not if King Kong gets him first.
“My intention is to knock out Andy Ruiz,” he said. “One of us is getting knocked out and I can guarantee this one doesn’t go to the judges.”
But they didn’t have judges when Ortiz was fighting on John L. Sullivan undercards, right? Sorry, couldn’t resist.
