Luis Ortiz Wants Best Possible Foe For Golovkin-Lemieux

By Reynaldo Sanchez

Unbeaten heavyweight Luis Ortiz continues his preparation for his next fight, even though an opponent has yet to be secured for his undercard appearance on October 17 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.

Ortiz’ team—which includes manager Jay Jimenez and promoter Oscar de la Hoya (Golden Boy Promotions)—are hard at work to secure his place on the show. The main event features Gennady Golovkin and David Lemieux in a middleweight title unification bout, with the card to air live on HBO Pay-Per-View.

"It has been difficult finding heavyweights willing to fight Ortiz,” Jimenez told BoxingScene.com. “Fighters are either turning down the fight or asking for way too much money. Nobody wants to take a risk, they all know that Luis Ortiz comes to fight and goes in search for the KO from the beginning.”

Among those who’ve so far turned the fight is Top 10 heavyweight contender Bryant Jennings. The American heavyweight gave Wladimir Klitschko a good challenge in their World heavyweight championship fight in April, but expressed displeasure over the money offered to face Ortiz on this particular show. Had he accepted, it would have been Jennings’ fourth straight appearance at Madison Square Garden and on HBO or its PPV arm.

Instead, the hunt continues.

Assuming he’s able to land an opponent, the Cuban southpaw will fight on the undercard of his second straight show featuring Lemieux in the main event. The two fought on the same card in June, with Ortiz knocking out Byron Polley on the same night that saw Lemieux win his first world title with a unanimous decision over Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam in June.

Jimenez and de la Hoya met over the weekend in California. The session was productive, even if the search is on for a suitable opponent.

“We can’t say anything 100% for now, but there are talks with some people and we hope to conclude negotiations soon to officially announce the Luis Ortiz opponent before next weekend,” added Jimenez.

Meanwhile, Ortiz continues his training camp in Miami, under the directions of Herman Caicedo. Whomever he faces, the hard work is already being put in.

“The opponent doesn’t worry me,” Ortiz (22-0, 19KOs) insists. “I told my managers to get the best available opponent. I'm ready to move on in search of a world title and on October 17th, I will prove it to the world.”