Derric Rossy is more tough and rugged than he is good. He?ll need a Buster Douglas kind of night if he hopes to pull an upset?
He has the makings of a champion. At 6?4 and 230 pounds he?s the right size for a heavyweight. He is undefeated at 27-0 with 23 knockouts. He?s a product the Cuban boxing system, having fought his way out of Camaguey to sunny Miami Beach.
It sometimes looks like he has it all. A heavyweight contender with knockout power in both hands, this 38-year-old southpaw?s clock is ticking. He has had some memorable fights. His TKO of Bryant Jennings, who gave Kltischko fits when they fought eight months earlier, was excellent. But then he struggled somewhat in 2016 when he fought Malik Scott, who makes everyone looks bad, despite dropping the Philly cutie in rounds four, five and nine.
But times have changed. Ortiz is under new management and it looks like the sky is the limit.
On Saturday, April 22, at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York, in a fight televised live on Showtime Championship Boxing, Luis ?King Kong? Ortiz will make a splash. He is fighting trial horse Derric Rossy (31-12, 15 KOs), the 36-year-old club fighter from Medford, New York, in a 10-round special attraction on the undercard of the much preferred main event between Adrien Broner and Shawn Porter.
The casual fan will watch Ortiz do what he does best. They may not know Sonny Liston, but they know a knockout when they see it.
Rossy is on a win streak. In his last fight he stopped 362??pound Richard Carmack in Bethlehem, Pennsylvania, in the second round of a scheduled six-rounder. Before that he had lost seven of his last nine bouts.
At Thursday?s press conference at Gallagher?s Steakhouse in Manhattan, the fighters and their teams met the press.
?I?m not a man of many words,? said Ortiz, ?but yesterday was my birthday, so with that extra year of experience, I?ll speak a little bit more.
?I?m ready to fight right now. I?m waiting for the opportunity to fight the winner of Anthony Joshua vs. Wladimir Klitschko. They better get ready, because ?King Kong? will be waiting for them.?
A thought of a fight between Ortiz and Joshua of Klitschko is appealing. But we shouldn?t get ahead of ourselves.
?My plan is to become the heavyweight champion of the world,? Ortiz said. ?I feel like I?m with the right team now that will open those doors for me. Whoever they put in front of me, I will take care of them.?
There?s a third fighter on King Kong?s radar.
?I would love to fight Deontay Wilder,? said Ortiz. ?We?re both big, tough fighters. These are the kind of fights that people want to see. I know that my time will come.
?Once I get past this bout, it?s on to bigger and better things.?
Derric Rossy is not complacent. A contender to the ender, it feels like he?s been toiling in the hinterlands forever. There have been some big fights on the big stage, at the Garden, at the Blue Horizon, at the Hard Rock in Las Vegas. But he?s been a road warrior. He fought in China and Yonkers. He fought at a community college and raceway. He fought at the Morocco Shrine Temple in Jacksonville. He fought at the M2 Ultra Lounge in New York City. He fought at Club Destiny in Orlando.
Derric Rossy, to his credit, is that kind of fighter.
He won the Golden Gloves at heavyweight and played college football before he turned pro, but Rossy is not a natural. He moves well for a big man and reliably goes the distance.
?When they brought the fight to me, I said let?s do it,? Rossy said. ?This is a real fight. The fans are who pays us and they want to see a legitimate fight. This is going to be a quality matchup.
?You can?t ask for anything better than this kind of fight. I think our styles match up well. He throws his hands well and I think I do the same.?
But who has Rossy fought? Audley Harrison, Vyacheslav Glazkov, Bermane Stiverne. Who has he beaten? Joe Hanks in 2014. Axror Muralimov a year later.
That?s about it.
?I?ve fought a lot of really good heavyweights,? Rossy said. ?We?re both top-notch heavyweights and we?re going to go at it. All I know is that he?s tough, rugged and good.?
Rossy is more tough and rugged than he is good. He?ll need a Buster Douglas kind of night if he hopes to pull an upset.
Ever the optimist, Rossy said, ?I?m going to win this fight and it?s going to set up some big things. I?m in this business to get a world title. I have to go through Luis Ortiz to get there.?
