Unbeaten heavyweight Luis “King Kong” Ortiz (21-0,18 KOs) returns to the ring this Saturday. He will take on journeyman Byron Polley (27-18-1, 12 KOs) in an 8 round bout. It will be his first fight in 9 months. The bout will be on the undercard of the IBF middleweight world title fight between local David Lemieux vs. former champ Hassan N’Dam N’Jikam. The card will take place at the Bell Centre in Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
When we last saw Ortiz in the ring it was last September when he faced unbeaten Latee Kayode for the interim WBA Heavyweight title. Ortiz came out much more aggressive than we had seen. He also was in peak chiseled physical condition. Ortiz had Kayode down in round one and a barrage of punches that followed saw him get the stoppage in the very same round. It was all joy in the ring a possible showdown with WBA regular champion Ruslan Chagaev seemed in the near future. A fight with WBA super heavyweight champion Wladimir Klitschko also seemed possible. All these plans would change when Ortiz tested positive for a banned substance after his victory. Ortiz was banned from participating in any combat sports for 8 months beginning from the date of his last fight , stripped of his newly won title, and he victory was turned into a no contest.
This is a major setback for Ortiz who was looking at a major purse increase for sure had he fought Chagaev or Klitschko next. Ortiz is currently completely out of the WBA world rankings. It’s a sad tale as Ortiz had a very successful amateur career in Cuba winning more than 300 fights. Ortiz like many of fellow Cuban countrymen came to the United States for the opportunity for a better life. He went well beyond that getting all the way to the top of the heavyweight world rankings. Ortiz now must start over. He is under the Golden Boy Promotional banner which has a lot of fight dates. He could realistically see himself back in the title picture before the end of 2015.
