Eddie Hearn, can you stick price in with Ortiz on the undercard please!!!!

He holds a silly belt with the WBA. You know this. This means he isn't ranked with the IBF. For that fight to happen he'd have to drop the WBA title he holds and hope that the IBF parachute him in to their top 15 before December 10 in order so the bout could be sanctioned.

Before you talk about unifications taking precedent over other fights, remember the IBF doesn't recognise anything other than the opposing bodies top title, which Ortiz doesn't hold.

It's not hard to understand and I know you know why. You can try to pretend it's because Hearn and Joshua are terrified of this old Cuban drugs cheat all you you want but logistically it's a difficult fight to make for the aforementioned reasons.

 

And it's ridiculous to compare the Wlad situation to that of Ortiz. Firstly the WBA were considering letting him contest the WBA super title which would have constituted a unification bout and if not it seems less unlikely for the IBF to sanction a bout with a guy who was the champ for a hell of a long time until last year and hasn't fought since he lost that belt.

And Pulev. He's highly ranked by the IBF and would have been seen as a respectable opponent to nearly everyone. So I don't get you point at all.

Ortiz isn't a boogeyman, he's a mismanaged old bloke who's been done for cheating.

 

Actually, no I didn't know all of that, and if I did I didn't remember it. The alphabet organizations are a joke I often lose track of their full farcical picture.

What's the point of Ortiz holding this "silly belt" then?
Is he set to defend it against Malik Scott ?

 

He's a credible opponent for AJ. He currently deserves to be rated at least a place or two ahead of AJ too, probably. I'm not saying anything more than that.

So you expect Hearn to match AJ with Ortiz soon, or not?

Eddie Hearn signed the guy. What's the plan ? When is Ortiz getting a proper title shot ?Who they gunning for ? What are thw WBA saying?
Guessing now, Hearn's either going to match him with his other heavyweights, or he's going to use him to 'protect' AJ from other threats and keep him away from AJ, or he's going to carry on mismanaging him even worse than that..... ?

 

He should of dropped it ages ago IMO. That belt hasn't done anything for him at any point. He'd have been better off trying to become mando for a proper belt.

 

I think Hearn will be aiming to get Ortiz to fight the 'super' WBA champion. This keeps him away from Joshua until he's a little older whilst building him as an opponent and potentially getting his hands on the WBA title proper so the fight counts as a unification further down the line.

I think he'll manage him better than he has been but for his own ends more than Ortiz'.

 

Returning to this now the WBA have announced that they're willing to sanction Wlad vs AJ for the WBA title, there'd be nothing to stop Hearn making that fight if Joshua wins. It'd just be a case of closing the loop between the interim and super champ.

If Hearn doesn't make that fight then it's a duck.

 

I think Ortiz is good, as I think everyone else does. But is it possible we're over hyping him a little? Because he seems kinda avoided, has a decent win but poor management and is a Cuban, he seems to tick all of our hipster appreciation boxes.

I've no interest in him getting a title shot anyway. **** drug cheats

 

100% this. You have to look at boxing in a commercial sense sometimes.

 

It doesn't really matter how good Ortiz actually is.
The point is he is ranked above AJ on most top 10s. He's ranked above Deontay Wilder often too. If those guys want credibility as champions they need to be fighting the likes of Ortiz and Povetkin.
Ortiz would seem like an easy fight to make. He's at least 37, fast running out of time, and should certainly take a big fight.

 

Why are people acting like Ortiz is using a zmmerframe? Late 30s is most certainly not too old in the HW division. Ortiz' main vice is actually getting fat. There's nothing wrong with his age so long as he stays motivated and stays in condition.

 

Obviously, the relevant factor here is the fact that the fans deserve better than AJ-Molina (or perhaps they don't, judging from the multitude of comments defending it. Perhaps they deserve all the sh!t they can swallow) so while it's not IDEAL for the promoter it is surely the better option.

The promoter can't lose, he has both fighters under contract. If AJ wins he's got the best championship claim among the current division, and he's proved himself and probably learned something in the process. If Ortiz wins, it's no shame for AJ and there would be a rematch which would be as big as anything Hearn could build by keeping them apart. Either way, Ortiz won't be around as long as AJ can be around for.

When Don King had a virtual monopoly on the division he'd match his fighters constantly. Maybe he didn't make as much money for them and himself as he could have, but the best fighters were generally fighting each other.

 

Whatever he does he's unlikely to be improving 3 or 4 years from now, and he's most likely to be regressing.
40 is old for a boxer, there's no two ways about it. And officially Ortiz turns 38 in March.

 

Be like taking a lamb to a slaughter

 

Price is being re-built so the AJ fight sells $$$$$$$$.