Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)

Luis Ortiz
Statistics
Nickname(s)	The Real King Kong
Rated at	Heavyweight
Height	6 ft 4 in (193 cm)
Reach	84 in (213 cm)
Nationality	Cuban
Born	March 29, 1979 Camaguey, Cuba
Stance	Southpaw
Boxing record
Total fights	27
Wins	25
Wins by KO	22
Losses	0
No contests	2
Medal record Men's boxing Representing  Cuba World Cup 2005 Moscow Heavyweight

Luis Ortiz (born March 29, 1979) is a Cuban professional boxer. He is a two-time and current WBA interim heavyweight champion, having originally been stripped of his belt for testing positive for anabolic steroids.^[1] As an amateur, he won a silver medal at the 2005 Boxing World Cup. Nicknamed "The Real King Kong", Ortiz is known for his size, punching power and counterpunching skills.

Amateur career

With a reported 343-19 amateur record, Ortiz was a long-time member of the Cuban National Team without succeeding at the top international level. In 2006 Ortiz won the Cuban National "Playa Giron" at 91 kg. He holds amateur wins over many notable Cuban fighters including Mike Perez.

Cuban Championships medals:

• 2002 - Silver medal 95 kg
• 2003 - Bronze medal 91+ kg
• 2005 - Silver medal 91 kg
• 2006 - Gold medal 91 kg
• 2008 - Bronze medal 91+ kg

International results:

• 2005 - Panamerican Championships, Brazil - Gold medal 91 kg
• 2005 - World Cup (Team Competition), Russia - Silver medal 91 kg
• 2005 - World Championships, China - Quarter-finalist

Professional career

He trains with Dino Spencer at the World Famous 5th Street Gym in Miami Beach. He lives in Miami.

WBA Interim Heavyweight Title

First Win & No Contest

On October 11, 2014 Ortiz knocked down Lateef Kayode (20-0, 16 KOs) in the first round to in the Interim WBA Heavyweight title. 15 unanswered punches by Ortiz which scored on Kayode forced the stoppage. After the bout, Kayode claimed the knockdown was a slip, and stated the stoppage was premature, however Ortiz tested positive for a banned substance after the fight. On October 27, 2014, the NSAC postponed the taking of a decision whether to change the result to a no-contest or not until a full hearing of Ortiz who was not yet ready to testify on that date.^[2]

Second Chance vs. Vidondo

A year after being stripped, Ortiz had a second chance of becoming Interim World Champion, this time against Matias Ariel Vidondo of Argentina. Vidondo was down once in rounds two and three, Ortiz winning the bout via KO in round 2.

Ortiz vs. Jennings

Ortiz had his first real test against former world title challenger Bryant Jennings (19-1, 10 KOs) on December 19, 2015. Ortiz won the bout via TKO in the seventh round to successfully retain his World Title. This was Jennings first stoppage loss in his pro career.^[3] Ortiz improved his record to 24 wins, 21 by knockout and no losses and ranked at #1 by the World Boxing Association.^[4]

Ortiz vs. Thompson

On February 9, 2016 it was announced that Ortiz would defend his WBA Interim title against veteran heavyweight Tony Thompson (40-6, 27 KOs) at the DC Armory, in Washington on March 5. Ortiz stated it was "just another stepping stone on my path to becoming the unified heavyweight world champion.”^[5] It was later announced on March 1, that this bout would no longer be for the WBA Interim title, simply because Thompson wasn't ranked in the top 15 by the World Boxing Association at the time. Thompson had lost three out of his last five fights. Defeat to Malik Scott in October of last year in his last fight. Thompson was also beaten by Carlos Takam and Kubrat Pulev in the last three years. Initially WBA wanted Golden Boy Promotions to put together a fight between Ortiz and #5 WBA Alexander Ustinov, and that failed to happen unfortunately. ^[6] On fight night, Ortiz knocked Thompson down in rounds 1, 3 and 6. Thompson got up, but the referee Malik Waleed stopped contest. The judges had Ortiz ahead on all scorecards at the time of stoppage (50-43, 49-47 & 50-43). ^[7]

Professional Boxing Record

Titles in boxing

• WBA interim world heavyweight title (2015–present)
• WBO Latino heavyweight title (2012)
• WBC Latino heavyweight title (2012)
• WBA Inter-American heavyweight title (2012)
• WBA Fedelatin heavyweight title (2011)
• WBC FECARBOX heavyweight title (2010)

References

1. Fox Sports - "Heavyweight Luis Ortiz Tests Positive for Steroids" by Jeandra LeBeauf (2016). BadCulture p.1 www.badculture.net Retrieved 14-03-2016.
2. "Fight:1912055 - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
3. "Fight:2017859 - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
4. "World Boxing Association Ranking | World Boxing Association". www.wbanews.com. Retrieved 2016-05-02.
5. "Luis Ortiz will fight Tony Thompson on March 5 -". www.boxingnewsonline.net. 2016-02-09. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
6. "Luis Ortiz vs. Tony Thompson won't have interim WBA title on line". Boxing News 24. 2016-03-01. Retrieved 2016-05-03.
7. "Luis Ortiz vs. Tony Thompson - BoxRec". boxrec.com. Retrieved 2016-05-03.

External links

• Professional boxing record for Luis Ortiz from BoxRec