Deontay Wilder Announces Rematch with Luis Ortiz, September Date Reported

Deontay Wilder has announced that his next fight will be a rematch against Cuba's Luis Ortiz, delaying further the possibility of him meeting Anthony Joshua in a heavyweight unification clash. 

The WBC heavyweight champion confirmed he will take on Ortiz again after finishing him in a 10th-round knockout back in March 2018:

Wilder, 33, made the announcement just four days before Joshua puts his WBA, WBO and IBF titles on the line against Andy Ruiz Jr. in his United States debut at New York's Madison Square Garden.

A date and venue has yet to be confirmed for Wilder-Ortiz II, but September 7 or 28 in either Los Angeles or Las Vegas "could be possibilities," per MailOnline's Max Winters.

As well as Joshua, Tyson Fury had been widely touted as Wilder's next opponent after their thrilling and controversial draw in December last year, while Dillian Whyte was also seen as a possible contender for the American:

The fact he has agreed a deal to fight Ortiz has been met with some disappointment:

It means a unification fight with Joshua will now likely not happen until 2020 at the earliest.

Wilder's first fight with Ortiz was one of the bouts of the year in 2018, and their rematch could be equally thrilling.

It should be more of a challenge for the heavyweight champion than his first-round knockout of Dominic Breazeale earlier this month.

Since losing to Wilder, Ortiz has beaten Razvan Cojanu, Travis Kauffman and Christian Hammer to take his professional record to 31-1.

The 40-year-old is a worthy challenger for the Bronze Bomber, but he is not Joshua, and there will be plenty suggesting Wilder is now ducking a fight with the Englishman.