Boxing Updates: Jared Anderson vs. Luis Ortiz Inches Closer

It seems Jared Anderson is finally ready to expand his horizons. It’s been only four years since he professionally debuted. With 17 fights under his belt, the 24-year-old Ohioan remains unbeaten and holds two regional titles. Last week, he defended his belts successfully for the third time. So a natural progression of thought suggests ‘The Real Big Baby’ could be on a new endeavor, like taking himself to the next series of battles involving more serious names.

Though not confirmed, initial reports suggest that the WBC-USNBC and WBO international heavyweight title holder has seemingly expressed happiness over receiving a call-out from Luiz Ortiz. The latter, a former interim heavyweight champion, had challenged Deontay Wilder twice for his WBC title. He returned to the ring in January of this year, after a break of two years.

Jared Anderson versus Luis Ortiz: An Exciting Line-Up, But…

So talkSPORT‘s Michael Benson shared, “Jared Anderson has welcomed a call-out from Luis Ortiz for his next fight.” Last week on Saturday, April 13, Anderson scored a unanimous victory over Ivorian-Belgian boxer Ryed Merthy. With nearly 15 of his seventeen wins coming by way of knockouts, ‘The Real Big Baby’ offers a credible deterrence to the equally heavy-hitting Luis Ortiz. The 45-year-old Cuban seems keen to make a comeback to the bigger canvas.

The news appears to have pulled in a mixed bag of reactions from fans and followers. It surprised a few, who understandably brought about Ortiz’s age. Probably taking a dig, this user quipped, “I’ll bet. Luis is pushing 65 now.” Then some wanted a matchup with another, much younger Cuban heavyweight, Frank Sanchez. Take, for instance, “Luis Ortiz’s fought a couple months ago; he’s active and still a dangerous puncher; not a bad fight yet I would have loved to see him against Frank Sanchez.”

However, as it’s often said, styles make fights. So if two boxers with a known reputation for bringing an early stoppage to most of their fights clash, then fireworks should be in the offing.

‘King Kong’ Can Still Hurt

Camaguey, Cuba-born Luiz Ortiz professionally debuted in February 2010. Five years later, over a slew of regional titles, he finally made it through, becoming an interim WBA heavyweight champion in October 2015. He successfully defended his title two months later. Roughly a year later, he defeated Deontay Wilder’s current trainer, Malik Scott, unanimously, taking home the vacant WBA inter-continental heavyweight title. Two years later, he challenged ‘The Bronze Bomber’ for his WBC title. However, the adventure ended disastrously as Wilder knocked him down in the tenth round, inflicting Luis Ortiz with his first career defeat.

On November 23, 2019, marking a second attempt at a world title, ‘King Kong’ challenged Deontay Wilder once again. Only this time, the Beijing Olympics bronze medalist dispatched him in the seventh round. Luis Ortiz won his next two bouts by early stoppages. However, on September 4, 2022, Andy Ruiz Jr. inflicted a third loss to the Cuban-born heavyweight boxer. This year, on January 13, he knocked out Columbian Francisco Cordero in the first round during the comeback bout.

It remains to be seen how a win over Ortiz will benefit Anderson. A triumph over an aging Cuban boxer might help him in terms of sealing his legacy. However, a move up the ladder would happen only if he went against top-placed contenders such as Frank Sanchez and Daniel Dubois, as some of the users suggested.

What’s your take on the potential Jared Anderson-Luis Ortiz match-up? Please share your views with us in the comments below.