So, Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz 2 is signed and set for later this year, possibly in late September? That?s good and bad news, right?
When Wilder vs. Ortiz, part one, was first discussed, back in late 2017, jaded boxing people?like yours truly?assumed that the fix HAD to be in. Why else would the WBC heavyweight champ, just a half-step away from a lucrative unification bout against Anthony Joshua, agree to step into the ring with the undefeated, hard-hitting, crafty Cuban who not only could, but very well might, twist him in knots and lay him out?
If on the level, Wilder-Ortiz was almost an incomprehensible gamble from Team Wilder. So, most likely, I opined, a fix was in the works.
But, as things turned out, the fight WAS on the level and Wilder?s gamble paid off as his battle through adversity to eventually stop Ortiz brought him instant boxing street cred from a fandom that was, quite frankly, writing him off as a fake champion building his reign on second and third-tier fall guys.
The bout was not without its controversy, though.
Referee David Fields? decision to have the ringside doctor check Wilder out in the beginning of the eighth round, after Wilder had been badly stunned at the end of the seventh, bought the champion an extra 30+ seconds to recover. The dubious call made Fields look like, as friend and writer/former boxing manager Charles Farrell said, ?the house referee.?
Ortiz would later add fuel to the fire by taking to social media and talking about someone with ?deep pockets? in Wilder?s corner making ?a signal to the lowlife referee? to get the stop in the action.
This, and the three judges? scorecards inconceivably favoring Wilder by 85-84 marks at the time of the tenth round stoppage, bring a degree of plausible deniability to the outcome of the first fight, at least enough to sell a rematch.
The problem is that Wilder-Ortiz 2, as much as it promises to be just as good as part one while offering closure to the loose-end controversies surrounding their first bout, is not Wilder-Joshua.
Deontay Wilder vs. Anthony Joshua is THE main stage fight in the heavyweight division and everything else?including dust-ups with lineal champ Tyson Fury?is just a ?best available? substitute.
But we won?t be getting Wilder-Joshua anytime soon and whether you blame Wilder or Joshua for the fight not happening, the truth is that the current boxing business model is more to blame for the non-fight than either fighter.
Joshua is a Matchroom Boxing fighter bound to Matchroom Boxing business ties and that means, at least in the US, being exclusive broadcast content of streaming service DAZN.
Wilder, on the other hand, is a promotional free agent with ties to a Showtime deal through boxing company Premier Boxing Champions.
DAZN reportedly offered Wilder as much as $120 million in a multi-fight deal to bring the ?Bronze Bomber? to their team and build towards a Joshua showdown. But, rather than being swayed by the offer, Wilder pulled back the other way, clutching to his free agency, refusing to sign over a chunk of his career to another company, and standing firm on the assumption that even better deals that afforded more autonomy would be coming his way later on.
In the meantime, Joshua and Wilder busy themselves with other tasks. Joshua, for instance, is taking on Andy Ruiz Jr. this Saturday in New York?s Madison Square Garden and now Wilder, who just stopped Dominic Breazeale with a one-punch face-buster of a right hand, is committed to an Ortiz rematch.
?To all my fans,? Wilder wrote via his verified Twitter account, ?I want to announce that Luis Ortiz and I have signed for a rematch, with the date and site to be announced shortly?All my controversial fights must get dealt with ASAP.?
Wilder-Ortiz 2 is good. Joshua?s people will surely be looking for a similarly ?good? fight for their guy?one that can also be sold to the public while wading through rough negotiations with the ?other? side is not an option.
That?s just boxing these days?take good, doable fights whenever you can get them and cross your fingers that somehow, someway you get a few great ones, too.
