Wilder-Ortiz is Biggest U.S. Heavyweight Fight Since Lewis-Klitschko

By Corey Erdman

Take a moment to consider that headline. It’s been 15 years since we’ve had a heavyweight fight on American soil of the magnitude of the one between Deontay Wilder and Luis Ortiz on Saturday night.

Even if you don’t hold Wilder or Ortiz in the same esteem as two Hall of Famers in Lennox Lewis and Vitali Klitschko, or even think they’ll join them in Canastota someday, the reality is that these are legitimately two of the three best heavyweights on the planet facing off against one another. That hasn’t happened in the United States with this level of significance since Lewis and Klitschko fought in June of 2003. 

Just to give you an idea of how long ago 2003 was, this is what the Ring Magazine heavyweight ratings looked like at the time of the fight:

Champion: Lennox Lewis

1. Vitali Klitschko
2. Chris Byrd
3. Corrie Sanders
4. Roy Jones Jr.
5. James Toney
6. David Tua
7. John Ruiz
8. Wladimir Klitschko
9. Fres Oquendo
10. Mike Tyson

"What makes this in one sense different form Lewis and Vitali is that there's an American involved," said SHOWTIME boxing analyst Steve Farhood. "It's indicative of where the heavyweight division has gone that this is the biggest fight on American soil since that time. That was a long time ago--fifteen years ago. It's indicative of not only who's been dominant, but where the fights have been."

Since that night, which also happened to be Lewis’ final fight, the heavyweight division mostly departed to Europe. There were of course fights involving the likes of Samuel Peter, Chris Byrd, Hasim Rahman and Shannon Briggs, but none were ever considered to be battles of the best in the division, let alone mainstream successes. In fact, since Lewis’ retirement, the only three lineal champions have been Vitali, his brother Wladimir Klitschko, and Tyson Fury.

Wilder is often criticized for his abilities, his level of opposition and popularity, perhaps more so than any other fighter in the sport. Perhaps that’s because he’s the first American heavyweight champion in some time, and the last American heavyweight champions the public remembers are likely Riddick Bowe and Evander Holyfield, and as such, is compared to them in terms of both skill and notoriety. What isn’t often mentioned however, is the landscape Wilder entered into upon turning professional in 2008, an American heavyweight scene populated by Chris Arreola, Travis Walker and Jameel McCline. Fast forward to 2018 and the country has perhaps the best heavyweight in the world.

Another common line of criticism when it comes to Wilder is to judge his popularity and the way he’s been marketed. Certainly, in comparison to Mike Tyson, Holyfield, or even Bowe, he doesn’t have quite the notoriety. That measurement is obviously disingenuous, given what we know about the mainstream popularity and coverage of boxing then as compared to today. It’s also true that Wilder isn’t as popular as his contemporary and hopeful future rival Anthony Joshua, however given that the UK star has had a greater three-fight streak at the box office than anyone in boxing history, everyone is going to fall short of him.

But if you look at the American landscape, if Deontay Wilder isn’t popular, who is? If he hasn’t been marketed well, who has? You don’t see other American fighters popping up in memes, the way Wilder did after his picturesque knockout over Bermane Stiverne this year. And it might not appeal to the same demographic as this readership, but Wilder’s role on WAGS Atlanta is a foray into reality television no other American fighter has made. If popularity, or notoriety, is based on television ratings and attendance alone, then the three biggest American-born fighters today are likely Wilder and Terence Crawford.

"Some of the reason for Wilder's standing among fight fans is not Wilder's fault. The guy was willing to go to Russia to fight Povetkin. The guy deserves a lot of credit for that. Obviously the fight didn't happen, but that's not his fault. Obviously the Ortiz fight didn't happen the fight time, but that's not his fault. So, it's kind of been other people's fault that he hasn't been thought of by everyone at the same level as he could be," said Farhood. "(But) the fact of the matter is, given his record, given his knockout record, given Joshua's record, given Joshua's knockout record, with wins in these two fights, they're gonna be thought of the way they are. The popularity isn't going to matter, because they're going to have to fight one another, period. All of that is going to be secondary with time. They're proving to be that much better and that much more attractive as fighters than the rest of the division."

Beating Ortiz is by no means a guarantee, and indeed, you’ll find no shortage of people picking the dangerous Cuban to spoil the party on Saturday night, hence the magnitude of this fight. But even those picking Ortiz, or even cheering for him, can admit that the biggest event to materialize from the Final Four created along with Joshua and Joseph Parker would be for Wilder and Joshua to face off. As significant as Wilder-Ortiz is for the American landscape, a matchup between Wilder and Joshua would be historically large on more than just a national level.

"I think it would be probably the biggest heavyweight fight since the Bowe-Holyfield-Lewis era," said Farhood. "If those knockout ratios hold up, it would be the heavyweight title fight/heavyweight title unification fight with the highest combined knockout ratio in history. And no one's comparing this to Ali-Frazier, it's a long way from that obviously, but just having two punchers of that ability in the ring with one another makes it exciting all on its own."