Luis Ortiz believes Deontay Wilder is a much better fighter than he was in March 2018 but lacks the edge needed to turn practice into perfect.
The Cuban warrior attempts to dethrone Wilder at the second time of asking this weekend, 20 months on from dropping a stoppage reverse.
Ortiz had Wilder in massive trouble in the first contest and is sure the referee saved the American from certain defeat.
Despite praising Wilder for honing his craft even further, ‘King Kong’ says he’s not the finished article by a long shot.
“When you watch videos online from Wilder, there are definitely things he does better now. But he still doesn’t have the experience of taking that from training into the fight.
“He’s got to have a plan B and C. If he doesn’t, it will be a mistake. I have a plan for everything,” stated Ortiz, before ruling out chasing an undisputed unification with the winner of Andy Ruiz Jr. vs Anthony Joshua next month.
“This fight isn’t personal against Wilder. But it’s personal because I want to erase the loss and that thorn in my side. My motivation is for this fight and this fight only.
“I’m not thinking about any other heavyweights.”
On possibly becoming the first top division contender of Cuban descent to win the sport’s ultimate prize, Ortiz concluded: “I’m very proud to be Cuban. I’ve been around some of the great Cuban fighters of all time.
“It’s going to be very exciting to become the first Cuban heavyweight champion,” he predicted.
WBC Heavyweight World Champion Deontay “The Bronze Bomber” Wilder and hard-hitting Cuban slugger Luis “King Kong” Ortiz went face to face on Saturday at a press conference to officially announce their highly anticipated rematch that headlines a FOX Sports PBC Pay-Per-View Saturday, November 23 at the MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.
Also squaring off at Saturday’s event in Los Angeles were three-division champion and current WBA Featherweight Champion Leo “El Terremoto” Santa Cruz and exciting contender Miguel “El Michoacan” Flores, who meet for the WBA Super Featherweight Championship in the co-main event of pay-per-view action that begins at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT.
