It’s safe to say, WBA interim heavyweight champion Luis “King Kong” Ortiz isn’t afraid of his next opponent Alexander Ustinov. Per Victor Salazar of BoxingScene.com, Ortiz vowed to “beat [Ustinov’s] head in.”
Well then Luis, tell us how you really feel. The WBA mandated that Ortiz defend his title against Ustinov by June, which is why King Kong’s sixth-round KO win over Tony Thompson on Saturday, March 5, was a non-title affair. The WBA would not sanction the bout as a title match because, had Thompson upset Ortiz, Ustinov’s promised shot at Ortiz for the title would’ve gone by the wayside.
Ustinov (33-1, 24 KOs) is a large heavyweight at 6’7”, but he has yet to face and defeat an elite opponent. Ortiz will be by far the biggest test of his career. Ustinov could have been Ortiz’s opponent on March 5, but he and his team elected to reject the date in an effort to give their fighter a full training camp to prepare for the champion.
Ortiz vs. Ustinov will be a part of the current WBA heavyweight tournament that began on Saturday when Lucas “Big Daddy” Browne became the first Australian-born champion in the division when he dramatically stopped Ruslan Chagaev in the 10th round. The purpose of the tournament is to crown one champion in the division within the WBA.
The winner of Ortiz-Ustinov will face the man who emerges victorious from the Tyson Fury-Wladimir Klitschko rematch scheduled for June. That semifinal bout is scheduled to happen in September.
Ortiz vs. Klitschko or Fury is mouth-watering matchup that would likely be a huge commercial success all over the world.
Browne has to win just one more fight to reach the final. He’s set to face Fres Oquendo in June as well. While there are several intriguing potential matchups, a bout between Ortiz and Browne would seemingly deliver the most bang for the buck.
Both men are seek-and-destroy fighters who won’t back down from a challenge or a brawl. With the final set to take place in December or January 2017, fight fans should be hoping they get that bout for Christmas.
This article was penned by the author who is not related to the WBA and the statements, expressions or opinions referenced herein are that of the author alone and not the WBA.
