In his latest IFL interview, he barely entertained the possibility of Joshua Ortiz. When you consider that Ortiz is with matchroom now and the fact he'll be mandatory to the winner of Joshua Klitschko, I'd have expected Eddie to already be in the process of promoting this one. But he barely mentioned Ortiz, even when asked about him. I find this strange. Ortiz is an excellent heavyweight and on the matchroom/sky platform, he can become one of the biggest names in the division no problem. Yet it's like Eddie is keeping him in the shadows. Is it a case of Eddie signing him to keep him away from Joshua? Or am I being ridiculous?
He signed Ortiz because it means he can control when Joshua takes him on and raise his profile with casuals. No doubt he will put him in a couple of fights to ascertain exactly what level he's at, what threat he presents to the Matchroom cash-cow and hope he declines a little as he moves towards 38. Then he will make the fight. Don King was a past-master at this, even making sure boxers got out of shape to protect his asset.
I think if Hearn paid good money then he wants a return on his investment. Ortiz bought out his contract from Goldenboy for a million dollars, when he's never had a million dollar purse. So that means he's expecting to make million dollar purses from his next few bouts. He's 37 and the clock is ticking. This will be the last promoter he signs with. Ergo, Hearn is going to put him in with Joshua because that's probably his only option for a million dollar purse and recouping the expenses already paid.
I guess it will come down to the money, he's a business man first and foremost. Smart thing would be to try and steer Ortiz in another direction towards another title holder, perhaps Wilder and use a proposed Joshua bout to entice fighters to face Ortiz, "If you can beat Ortiz, I'll give you a shot at my cash cow." Hearn talked about Ortiz fighting in the US in the spring, I suspect that will be on a double header with Joshua. Maybe we'll have Wlad/Joshua and Wilder/Ortiz on that card with the the insinuation that the winners will face off to unify all 3 major belts. But when or if Hearn puts Ortiz in the ring with Joshua will depend how both perform and the demand for the fight. If Joshua continues looking impressive, perhaps blasting out Molina and then Wlad early, maybe he takes the risk of a Joshua/Ortiz fight. But if Ortiz looks too good himself or if Joshua shows any sign of vulnerability I suspect he'll try and avoid putting Ortiz in with Joshua.
He should not do that anytime soon until Joshua sees more styles than the current ones he has faced. Ortiz is strong and for a big man he conserves energy very well. Joshua is muscled out, which means he requires much more oxygen to replenish what he spends between rounds. We have never seen him go the distance but the closest he got was against Whyte and he was tired before he got the KO. Hearn should wait a while before he throws AJ in with Ortiz. Wlad is ready to go that's why it's a good match for those 2 but not yet with Luis. AJ is a basic 1-2 heavyweight, Ortiz is more advanced. Ortiz mixes it up with his offense. This content is protected All I see with AJ is 1-2, 1-2, 1-2.... This content is protected
It makes sense for Ortiz to go WBC now he's free of WBA. It may be a wait but he could be looking to taken the belt from Povetkin and hold it until AJ matures and a mega unification fight takes place. Then a rematch if close. AJ goes for the WBA to set in place a Fury fight at some point. However, Wilder might look to cash out with a unification offer tho. That's my take on things. Wilder has some decent wins but I just don't see him defending against genuine top 5 HWs and his team probably know it.
