Deontay Wilder vs Luis Ortiz May Have Just Turned Personal!
When it comes to their upcoming November 23 rematch, WBC heavyweight champion Deontay “Bronze Bomber” Wilder (41-0-1, 40 KO’s) and Luis “King Kong” Ortiz (31-1, 26 KO’s) have been amazingly chummy with one another. Throughout the build-up of this dangerous do-over each man has consistently spoken of the respect that they have for the other.
The foundation of this respect stems from professional and personal roots.
FOES BECOME FRIENDLY
As professional fighters, Ortiz and Wilder hold a great deal of admiration for their opponent’s skills and in-ring ability. Personally, the two men have great admiration for the other due to how seriously they take their obligation to family. Both have daughters with atypical physical ailments and have forged somewhat of a bond in this regard. In all actuality, the first fight only took place because Wilder was impressed by Ortiz’s concern for his daughter.
Luis Ortiz was flagged for an illegal substance heading into their first bout, resulting in the fight being called off. In the aftermath of the scandal, Ortiz alibied that he was merely taking an undisclosed medication for his blood pressure.
Wilder’s hard stance on drug cheats in the sport is very much common knowledge. Nonetheless, he opted to give Ortiz a second chance on the strength that he was fighting for his daughter. It was a dilemma that he could earnestly sympathize with. Once in the ring, the two heavyweights staged one amazing fight. In the wake of their back and forth slug-fest, the pair of boxers simply gained more appreciation for the other.
A CHANGE OF HEART
Even after their ferocious battle, the mutual feelings of camaraderie did not wane in the least. If anything, they appeared to deepen. Well that was until a conference call that took place to promote the November 23 bout. While answering a battery of questions Ortiz would deliver his thoughts on Wilder’s in-ring tactics.
Somewhat surprisingly, King Kong stated that Wilder utilized some dirty maneuvers that border-lined on being illegal. More specifically, Ortiz stated that Wilder would punch down and land blows on the back of the head.
“Some of the things that Wilder does can be done differently this time around. Which is the illegal blows that he throws with the inside of his fists, punching down from the top of the head down and all kinds of craziness that he does which makes it very difficult to get settled into any fight.
“Quite frankly it should be illegal. Borderline criminal.”
Luis Ortiz (Speaking Through Translator) – WBC #3 Ranked Heavyweight Contender
Being that Ortiz submitted to the Q&A first, when Wilder sat down for his session he was asked how he felt about King Kong’s comments. Initially the WBC champion more or less laughed it off. Yet, as he thought about it more, the accusation seemingly started to get under his skin. Before long the Bronze Bomber became more and more fixated.
In his mind, Wilder did not have to give Ortiz the first shot at his belt and certainly had no obligation to provide a second. Now that he thought his integrity was under fire, the Bronze Bomber began getting a bit hot under the collar.
Whether they were behaving in a friendly matter or not, Wilder already wanted to knock Ortiz out in the rematch. Now, that he felt he was being slighted and slandered, his desire to put a true hurting on King Kong greatly increased.
“I want to add another thing, because if it’s something to tear me down, you know, I would feel some type of way towards Ortiz even more. I would feel a negative type of vibe towards him if he would ever try to tear me down or something after I blessed him twice. I would love to know what he meant by that.
“That could be a definite ‘it’ factor for raising my blood, he talk about taking blood pressure medicine, that would definitely raise my blood and make me even more want to hurt him now.
“[…] So I need that clarified or I’m going to take this the wrong way and I’m really going to want to beat his ass!”
Deontay Wilder – WBC Heavyweight Champion
A THIN LINE CROSSED
Even with Wilder and Ortiz getting along, their rematch was destined to be action-packed and violent. Now that there is a potential new beef, the odds of blood, gore and concussions just exponentially rose! With a little under two weeks to go before Wilder and Ortiz square off, the time just can’t fly fast enough.
3kingsboxing will continue to report on this rematch that is quickly souring into a true grudge match.
By: Bakari Simpson
