WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder will make a voluntary defense of his title against Luis Ortiz in a rematch, which both boxers announced on Saturday.
The contest will take place on November 23 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas, and Fox Sports Pay-Per-View will carry the contest.
They met back in March of 2018, with Wilder dropping Ortiz early on - but then he was badly rocked and nearly stopped in the seventh. Wilder regrouped and dropped Ortiz two more times for a knockout win in the tenth round at Barclays Center in New York City.
Since their meeting, the 40-year-old southpaw from Cuba has won three bouts in a row - but some believe that he's finally starting to look his age.
Ortiz was a frontrunner to face Anthony Joshua back in June, when the British boxer's original opponent Jarrell Miller was pulled from the fight due to his drug test failure. Ortiz and Joshua's handlers were unable to reach an agreement on the money, and the opportunity was eventually give to Andy Ruiz, who pulled off the year's biggest upset in stopping Joshua.
Wilder believes Ortiz is still highly avoided, but more than anything the unbeaten champion wants to set the record straight about their first meeting - as some critics felt he may have been saved from a TKO defeat when the officials called for time at the start of the eight round, which Ortiz claimed prevented him from following up on the damage he did in the prior round.
“When I fought Ortiz, not only did he have the pedigree, but also he had the classification of being the boogeyman of the division,” Wilder said.
“I agree with those who say that Luis Ortiz was my toughest fight to date. No one wanted to fight him and they still don’t. In the rematch there’s more confidence and more motivation to do what I have to do.”
