Jared Anderson's Hall of Fame promoter Bob Arum, who had just come off a winless streak and a win over a very passive and defensive-minded Riyad Mahi, put out a message on social media, challenging anyone. I begged him to show up at the venue, believing that he could actually test it. Anderson in the ring.
Veteran Cuban southpaw Luis Ortiz reacted to this, telling Arum via his own social media message, “Give Anderson to me.”
Ortiz, who is officially 45 years old but who some feel is actually much older, said in a message: “I can guarantee you it will be a great fight…and a nightmare for Anderson.”
Ortiz may be old and may seem like he's been around forever, but he can still punch and maybe still be dangerous. Indeed, the expectation is that Ortiz will actually try to take down Anderson, and Ortiz will try to get his hands off him, or at least try to do so there.
And when Charles Martin, another veteran of “Prince,” fought Martin, a lefty like Ortiz, he gave Anderson a pretty tough time, putting “The Real Big Baby” in an entertaining fight for the final time. We all watched as he brought it all the way to the bell.
Sure, Martin isn't as old as Ortiz, but Anderson isn't a finished article yet, and perhaps Ortiz can find some holes in Anderson's game, just like Martin did. Again, Ortiz can't do any worse against Anderson than Mahy.
Ortiz, who is 34-3-29, has a win over Martin himself and was able to stop the former IBF heavyweight champion in a different way than Anderson. If Ortiz is next for Anderson, it might not be such a bad fight. Again, better than what we saw when Marley “battled” Anderson.
Ortiz is at or near the best of Deontay Wilder and Andy Ruiz, with the old fighter picking up wins since his January hiatus. Would Arum accept Ortiz instead of Anderson?
