Count on it
BRETT Yormark is so confident Luis “King Kong” Ortiz will stay clean for his heavyweight title fight with Deontay Wilder, he has created a hashtag for it: #TheFightIsOn.
Wilder (39-0, 38 KOs) is scheduled to defend his WBC heavyweight championship against Ortiz (28-0, 24 KOs) on March 3 at Barclays Center. It’s the second attempt at a matchup which was first scheduled for Nov. 4, but was sabotaged when Ortiz tested positive for a banned substance making him ineligible for the fight. Bermane Stiverne stepped in and was promptly knocked out in the first round by Wilder.
Ortiz tested positive for a drug known to be a masking agent for performanceenhancing drugs. But the Cuba native said he was taking the medication to control high blood pressure. The WBC accepted his appeal and returned him to their rankings, making him eligible for this fight.
“We had built a lot of momentum for the first time then suddenly it went away,” said Yormark, the CEO of Brooklyn Sports and Entertainment. “This time, I think a lot of fans are on the fence. They want to commit, but they want to commit when they know the fight is happening.
“From everything I’ve seen, Ortiz looks like a guy that wants to fight and has a relatively short window to show what he’s capable of doing. He was given an opportunity at Wilder, which was an opportunity of a lifetime and now he’s getting a chance again. I didn’t see someone wanting to waste that chance a second time. It’s one of the biggest fights that can be made. We’re excited and thrilled to be able to host it.”
Meanwhile, former two-division cham- pion Danny “Swift” Garcia of Philadelphia takes on former lightweight champion Brandon Rios of Oxnard, Calif., Saturday night in Las Vegas in a welterweight matchup. Showtime will televise from the Mandalay Bay Events Center. The Premier Boxing Champions card also features undefeated super middleweight champion David Benavidez against Ronald Gavril in a rematch of their September bout won by Benavidez on a split decision.
Garcia (33-1, 19 KOs) is hoping a win over Rios (34-3-1, 25 KOs) will get him a shot a world title later this year in a division that’s rich with talented fighters like WBC/ WBA champ Keith Thurman and IBF champ Errol Spence.
“At the end of the day, everyone at welterweight has to prove themselves,” Garcia said. “The pieces will fall into place. Eventually, we’ll all fight each other. I’m just going to keep taking it one fight at a time.”
Elsewhere, former welterweight champions Victor Ortiz and Devon Alexander try to keep their names in the mix in El Paso, Texas, where they’ll meet at the Don Haskins Center on the UTEP Campus. The PBC card will be broadcast on FOX and FOX Deportes. Ortiz, a former WBC welterweight champion, is best known for trying to head-butt Floyd Mayweather before getting knocked out, while Alexander, also a former welterweight champion, had his best fights with Zab Judah. Former junior middleweight champion Austin Trout is also on the card, facing Juan De Angel.
It looks like the Gennady “Triple G” Golovkin-Saul “Canelo” Alvarez rematch will be in Las Vegas on May 5. An official announcement is forthcoming.