Luis Ortiz, Matchroom Boxing Agree to Contract: Latest Details and Reaction
WBA interim heavyweight champion Luis Ortiz reached an agreement Saturday with Matchroom Boxing on a new promotional contract.
Matchroom Sport managing director Eddie Hearn announced the news on his official Twitter feed. Dan Rafael of ESPN reported the company didn't provide the financial details of the signing but noted the Cuban star paid $1 million to get out of his deal with Golden Boy Promotions six weeks ago.
Ortiz told Rafael he's happy to get a new contract in place so his focus can shift toward dropping the interim tag and becoming the full-time heavyweight champ:
"I always had faith in my manager and friend Jay Jimenez, but I never expect this fast turnaround and I'm so excited about the future. God has been great to me and my family. I'm ready. I'm going to be very busy over the next few months and looking forward to boxing in many countries as we continue my journey to the heavyweight world championship.
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Although the bout hasn't been made official, Elisinio Castillo of Boxing Scene reported Thursday that Ortiz is expected to face French foe Carlos Takam in Monaco on Nov. 12. He also passed along comments from Jimenez about the possibility of another fight before year's end.
"We know that there are many expectations for the future of Luis' career, but we never doubted that there would be better things coming for him," Jimenez said. "We secured this fight in November and we're not losing faith on seeing him in the ring again in December."
It's unclear whether the second bout will be with Alexander Ustinov. He was supposed to take on a mandatory title defense against the Russian heavyweight in September, but Rafael reported the deal fell apart over a purse dispute and played a role in his exit from Golden Boy.
Ortiz holds a 25-0 record with 22 wins coming by knockout. His last fight was a sixth-round knockout of Tony Thompson in March.
His rise toward the top of the division hasn't come without controversy, though. He was stripped of the interim belt and suspended for eight months in January 2015 after testing positive for an anabolic steroid following his win over Lateef Kayode in September 2014. The result was changed to a no contest.
Ortiz won the title back last October by defeating Matias Ariel Vidondo and successfully defended it two months later against Bryant Jennings. His expected fight with Takam will mark his second defense.
