WILL Dillian Whyte and Luis Ortiz fight on December 22 in London? There has been plenty of suggestion this fight will indeed go ahead – with Cuban dangerman Ortiz reportedly agreeing to the fight.
Jay Jimenez, who looks after the once-beaten southpaw, took time out to speak with Boxing News to give us the latest on this, a fascinating and potentially explosive fight:
Q: What is the latest from your side on a possible Luis Ortiz-Dillian Whyte fight?
Jay Jimenez: Luis has accepted the fight! Yes, he is ready to go, we are ready to go. To be honest, it wasn’t a fight I pushed for, because I didn’t think it made sense to come to the UK – I felt the fight made more sense for the US. But looking at it from a fan standpoint, and from the money the fight would make, the fight taking place in the UK maybe would be bigger. Luis told me, he’s gotta go there. He really wants this fight. But we have received no real offer yet. I don’t know if [Dereck] Chisora is still the priority for Eddie [Hearn] and maybe Chisora has already signed a contract, so maybe that is the hold up. But really, I need to know soon; by tomorrow, really.”
Q: Luis would be happy though, to come to the UK to fight again?
J.J: “Yeah, he wants it. But again, is the Chisora fight their priority? Eddie spoke about this fight [Whyte-Ortiz] maybe happening early next year. We’ll see. I guess Eddie is working on the numbers right now. But if we get an offer we are there, most definitely. I think, as a fan, it’s a great fight – a 50-50 fight. Whenever I get nervous, where I wouldn’t put my own money on it, I know it’s a great fight! It should happen. Whyte has improved a lot since the [Anthony] Joshua fight, and to be totally honest we need this fight more than Dillian does.”
Q: Has Ortiz been in the gym since his July win over Razvan Cojanu, and does he crave that rematch with Deontay Wilder still?
J.J: “Yeah, Luis is always in the gym. And yes, he wants that Wilder rematch bad – he is sure he can beat him in a second fight. The only way to get that fight, or any big fight, is to fight other big fights and win them. So again let’s do it. We are definitely ready to go, to get on that plane. Right now, we’re seeing how they [Hearn and Whyte] work the numbers. We’re waiting on them.”
