Deontay Wilder: “They’ll say he’s old but they won’t get in there and fight this old man!”
WBC heavyweight champion Deontay Wilder (40-0-1, 40KOs) and top contender Luis Ortiz (31-1, 26KOs) officially announced their long expected rematch!
Back on March 3, 2018 these two men put on a tantalizing fight. The back and forth action had fans on the edge of their seats. Wilder scored three total knockdowns in the fight but had to overcome a frightening seventh round that nearly saw him lose his title by knockout. Many fans believed the round was so one-sided that the referee should have stopped the fight!
However, he would rally with two knockdowns in the tenth round to score a knockout victory to retain his WBC heavyweight title.
Now over a year later these two will once again lock horns on November 23 in Las Vegas on FOX Pay Per View!
Wilder addressed critics who point at the age of Ortiz (40) by seemingly taking shots at fellow heavyweight champions and contenders not willing to step in the ring with the dangerous southpaw from Cuba.
“To be able to have that honor and fight him again especially when these guys in the top 10 won’t. They’ll say he’s old but they won’t get in there and fight this old man.
“How many guys have had a chance at me; to be mandatories, but all they had to do was face Luis Ortiz? But the excuse is he’s old! We in the sport! We signed up for it so beat his old ass then.
“But they never give him the opportunity because they know what the real is.”
Ortiz has indeed been a guy that’s been avoided like the plague at times in his career. However, he has the chance to change that with this second opportunity at becoming champion and righting the wrongs of his first fight with Wilder.
Buckle up everyone, because on November 23 these men will yet again put it all on the line!
By: Jerrell Fletcher
I agree, there was a time when everyone avoided Ortiz. But you can add Wilders name to that list too. Because back when Wilder won that title from Stiverne, the hottest heavyweight in the division was Ortiz, and nobody was banging on his door, except Jennings. And Jennings was demolished. Everyone that stepped in the ring with Ortiz got demolished. Wilder wanted no part of that. Wilder waited until Ortiz was 40, then took the fight. So I’m not giving Wilder any type of special credit for fighting Ortiz now. Not to mention, others like Joshua wanted to face Ortiz, but Ortiz has failed a few drug test. There seems to be a lot of Heavyweight fights that could be made, should’ve been made, but for some reason certain fighters cant stay off the sauce. Or, they price themselves out of fights. Wilder vs Joshua should’ve happen over a year ago, and now that fight has lost so mush traction its not even funny. Even if Joshua gets his titles back, and thats a BIG if, Wilder vs Joshua just doesn’t have the same feel. Nothing beats two Undefeated Heavyweight Champions facing off. Sure, its still the fight at Heavyweight that everyone wants. And if Joshua gets his belts back thats a good story. But then, why did he lose in the first place? Was he bored? Is Ruiz really just that good? Can Wilder blast out Ruiz like he does most other’s? I doubt it. I think Ruiz knocks Wilder out. Ruiz can take a punch. Every time AJ hit Ruiz, Ruiz fired back even harder, ultimately taking AJ out. Actually, Ruiz beat AJ’s ass. I just watched that fight again on DAZN, and Ruiz is a good fighter. I think Ruiz is the best Heavyweight in the Division right now. He just doesn’t get the credit he should because of the way he looks. But his hands are the fastest in the division, and at 270lbs, I think hes among the heaviest. That’s crazy to me. I have no doubt Ruiz would swarm Fury. Fury has no power, nothing to keep Ruiz off of him. Wilder wont put up with Fury in their rematch either. Wilder knows now that Fury has no power, cant hurt him, so I look for Wilder to end the rematch early. So AJ vs Ruiz winner will be able to sit back and either wait out the winner of Wilder v Fury or just fight one of their mandatories. Pulev, I think. Will Miller ever come back? Who knows. That guy basically got popped for every drug you can take. The guy is probably a total fraud. And while all this is going on, we have Whyte sitting back with no one to fight. I cant think of a more deserving Heavyweight than Whyte. Since Whyte’s fight with Joshua, I would say Whyte has gotten much better. Can we say the same with Joshua? I’m going to say, no…
Ortiz a dangerous fighter, to Wilders credit to fight him again.