Interview with Luis Ortiz (Cuban HW)

Young? Dude is like 34 or something. But it seems like he has enough left in the tank to make one quick run at a title. Stopping Page is no small feat. He hadnt been stopped since 2006.

EDIT: Article says he's 31. But if I remember correctly, there was speculation about him that he might actually be older than they say, which isn't too uncommon with Cuban athletes, since that means they get physical advantages in amateur competition.

 

Too old to make a title shot I think.

 

343-19 amateur record
n his heyday, Savon beat every single amateur contender including David Tua, Sultan Ibragimov, Shannon Briggs and Lamon Brewster. Wtf?
When did he fight Tua? XD

 

What r you talking about? Cubans start very early and win gold medals at the age of 19 and 20 years old, the problem is that since they don't have profesional sport there, they stay in the national team for too long, just check at what age Rigondeuax, Gamboa, Casamayor, Teofilo, Savon, Balado, Correa sr. etc.. won their medals. Beside if that is the official age from the Cuban Goverment rest assure that they will not lie about that, taking years off a defector means more money, and they don't want any of them to succed, and in Cuba you get register in the civil records as soon as you are born, they don't know who is going to b an athlete or a bum.
PS. They don't need to change anything, for every Gamboa on the top, there are 10 more waiting on the wings.

 

get real

 

That was a short right hand, what an amazing power, Savon was 24 years old at that time.

 

That's EXACTLY the problem. Cuba is famous for lying about its athlete's ages. They make a lot of them younger than they really are, because then you have an advantage in youth amateur tournaments (e.g., a 16 year old competing against 14 year olds). Ortiz was gigantic and knocking out full blown HWs when he was 18, which supports the theory that he's actually older than they say he is.

Remember El Duque though? He even said he was at least five years older than his listed age. Just there's no good way to prove it, since you can't get the Cuban birth certificates, and since it's government-sponsored age fraud, the government just forges a new one anyway. But dozens of times Cuban athletes have been shown to actually be older than they say they are.

 

He won't make a big noise in the HW division.

 

In baseball they lie about the age to get better long term contracts.
El duque is an example
But in boxing they start very young and is possible some may be lying but some amateurs cubans champs are just teenagers.

 

I believe he is 31

 

The little that I saw of him, his defense was a little shaky. Not much technique, power wasn't bad.

 

Duque didn't change his reported age when he left Cuba. The Cuban government needs to state these guys ages for amateur tournaments. It's not the individuals doing it, it's the government.