The side of his eyes wrinkled as a timid crooked smile escaped him. He gathered himself up quickly as if suddenly reminded he was here to put up a front of a vicious killer, after all, he had to live up to the brutal reputation of nickname: King Kong.
Cuban heavyweight boxer Luis “King Kong” Ortiz initially appeared annoyed at the final press conference; as the media questioned him about his upcoming fight, he responded with short dry answers which would leave the press wondering if they should continue digging for useful responses.
Ortiz began to get more comfortable with every question from Xicana Boxing, changing his body language and smiling from time to time during the interview.
“I’m at a 100% sure of myself,” Said Ortiz. “I came to do what I know how to do, and that’s to throw punches.”
Ortiz (28-1, 24 KOs) returns to the boxing ring against Romanian former title contender Razvan Cojanu (16-3, 9 KOs) this Saturday, July 28, after suffering his first pro career loss against WBC Heavyweight Champion Deontay Wilder. The fight will be the co-main event for the Premier Boxing Champions lightweight unification fight of Mikey Garcia vs. Robert Easter Jr on Showtime Boxing.
Cojanu is coming off a year of inactivity after coming up short against former WBO Heavyweight Champion Joseph Parker, losing a 12 round decision. The Romanian heavyweight appeared calm and collected, assuring he was ready for anything King Kong could bring regardless of fighting at such short notice.
“If you remember my last fight against Parker I had a 12-day notice,” Parker said. “But I knew I was in shape. This fight with Ortiz right now was kind of similar short notice, but I’m in better shape. We just have to adjust to a game plan.”
Parker had picked Cojanu as his sparring partner on several occasions, which helped Conjanu familiarize his type of power and style.
“I knew he was going to run,” said Cojanu. “I knew he was going to get me tired, I had to chase him.”
Conjanu turned to his trainer and asked if he remembered what he told him on the ninth round of the Parker fight. His trainer chuckled and nodded his head.
“He said, ‘I’m tired and my legs are shaking.’ I was like, really? F*ck!”
Though Conjanu has the height advantage coming into this fight, Ortiz has a more extended reach, which facilitates precise punch landing on his taller opponent.
Though Wilder stopped Ortiz in his title shot match, The Cuban looked impressive as he outboxed Wilder in the early and middle rounds. Controversy surrounded the fight after Ortiz hurt Wilder in the seventh round nearly finishing him up, but was saved by the bell. At the beginning of the eight, the referee waved Wilder to return to his corner and be checked by the doctor, even though he didn’t have a cut. Many fans believe the referee gave Wilder additional time to recover from Ortiz’s punches and eventually go back to win the fight.
Ortiz expressed discontent at the fact that the referee stopped the fight, saying he would have rather been knocked out completely before having the fight waved off.
“I would have rather been carried out on a stretcher,” Ortiz told the press. “I would rather have my head punched off my head before the ref stops the fight.”
Eager to return to the ring and reinsert his dominance, Ortiz promises to completely outclass his opponent to land a rematch with Wilder, which he says it’s his priority.
“Of course I want a rematch,” Ortiz told Xicana Boxing. “I deserve one. I will fight the same fight, just some minor adjustments.”
The fight will be televised tonight, July 28 on Showtime Boxing at 10 p.m ET / 7 p.m. PT.
The T.V opening bout will be fireworks as undefeated super lightweight contender Mario “EL Azteca” Barrios takes on Jose “El Gato” Roman (24-2-1, 16 KOs) in his turf.
Showtime Boxing will go the extra mile to make sure fans enjoy a terrific boxing card by streaming some of the non-televised bouts on their Youtube and Facebook pages for fans to enjoy. The streamed matches will include Argentinian warrior Fabian “TNT” Maidana (15-0, 11 KOs) who is the younger brother of now retired Marcos “El Chino” Maidana, and the Ringstar Boxing prospects out of Santa Maria, Ca. Karlos and Jose Balderas.
Picture credit: Showtime Boxing
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