British contender Dillian Whyte is the top rate contender to WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (39-0, 38 KOs).
Whyte is going to be a very interested observer when Wilder defends his title this Saturday night, against undefeated Luis Ortiz (28-0, 24 KOs) at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York.
Whyte has his own order of business ahead, when he faces former WBA champion Lucas Browne on March 24th.
According to Whyte, he's watched Wilder spar in the gym - and saw him not old get dropped but knocked out as well.
Because of that, he says "Ortiz stands a very good chance because Deontay Wilder can't take a punch."
"'I've seen Wilder spar, I've seen him get knocked out in sparring before, but I don't tell sparring stories. I saw him get dropped in sparring before, but sparring's sparring. Marvin Hagler used to get dropped in sparring a lot, Mike Tyson got dropped in sparring," Whyte told The Daily Mail.
But Ortiz has two things against him, says Whyte.
Whyte, like many other industry insiders, is convinced that Ortiz is a lot older than he claims to be. Ortiz says he is 38 years old, but there are many who believe the boxer is actually somewhere in his 40's.
The issue Whyte has with Ortiz, is his lack of activity. Ortiz has been very inactive over the last few years, due to fights falling through and promotional issues.
"It's a really good fight, but there's two problems for Luis Ortiz. At the top level he's been inactive for the past two or three years. Wilder's been very active, he might not have fought top guys but they've still been decent guys with decent records," Whyte said.
"The second problem is (Ortiz) has got to be about 1,000 years old. When you look at it, he has very good skills and very good punching power, but I just think his inactivity is going to be his downfall."
