By Keith Idec
Luis Ortiz is generally regarded as the most dangerous opponent of Deontay Wilder’s career, age and all.
So no, Wilder hasn’t had any difficulty remaining motivated for their heavyweight title fight Saturday night at Barclays Center.
The unbeaten WBC champion told Max Kellerman and Stephen A. Smith during a segment Tuesday on ESPN’s “First Take” that while Anthony Joshua obviously is the fight for him, he is beyond ready to prove himself against the unbeaten Cuban contender (Showtime; 9 p.m. ET).
“With Ortiz being a fighter, and my attitude toward respecting all fighters, I get up just the same as if Ortiz was just a prospect just coming up, just now coming on the scene,” Wilder said.
“So, you know, I must respect all fighters that step in the ring because we risk our lives in that ring and I know Ortiz is gonna bring the best of him, just like any other one. So, you know, I get up just fine for Ortiz.
“I actually can’t wait to get in the ring with this guy because Ortiz has been one of these fighters, with that Cuban background, and his schooling, 300 amateur fights, and a lot of guys have avoided him. Even champions have avoided him. So I’m doing the champions a favor right now by taking out the trash.”
The 32-year-old Wilder (39-0, 38 KOs), of Tuscaloosa, Alabama, has been installed as a 3-1 favorite over Ortiz (28-0, 24 KOs, 2 NC).
Though powerful and skillful, speculation persists throughout the boxing industry that Ortiz is older than his listed age of 38. Wilder knows, though, that the former WBA interim champion remains a legitimate threat.
“Ortiz has been avoided for a long time in his career,” Wilder said. “Like I said before, even champions have avoided him. And I took this opportunity to say, ‘You know what? I wanna pull this card. I wanna fight him. If people have said that he was the best, then I wanna fight him.’ Because I always say I’m the best. I always say I’m the most dangerous fighter. I always say I’m the king of the heavyweight division, and thus far I haven’t gotten my credit.
“So if this is the step I must take, if Ortiz is the man I must defeat and knock out to get my due respect and credit to the world, then I want him. I don’t care what he’s done in the past. I don’t care what he’s doing now. When we get up in that ring March the 3rd, it’s going down.”
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.
