Deontay Wilder-Luis Ortiz Confirmed March 3 at Barclays Center

BoxingScene.com has learned that representatives for Wilder and Ortiz are negotiating for them to fight March 3 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. That deal isn’t finalized, but Wilder wants to fight Ortiz next, even after their November 4 bout was canceled due to Ortiz’s failure to adhere to the WBC’s “Clean Boxing Program.”

http://www.boxingscene.com/deontay-wilder-luis-ortiz-works-march-3-barclays-center--123590

 

It feels like it is going to take a miracle for this fight to ever happen, and for nothing "odd" to happen to Ortiz to make it not happen.

 

Going head to head with HBO on the same night in the same city

as if it wasnt bad enough that both Wilder at Barclays and Kovalev at MSG had trouble selling tickets by themselves

 

That's plenty of time for something to go wrong here.

 

Seems like an odd choice then to choose that date, unless they are pushing back at HBO with their own tactics.

 

If this fight comes off, I don't see any opponent Kovalev could face that would have me spend money on his fight over Wilder/Ortiz.

 

Funny thing is HBO will still get more viewers

 

More subscribers.....they are supposed to make bigger numbers. But real fans will not tune to kovalev if wilder vs ortiz is happening

 

Kova did not have trouble selling out the theater.

Heavyweight championship fight will draw more of course.

 

They should be putting this fight on CBS on another day to give Wilder/Ortiz a better look. That's the first thing Wilder's team should have wanted. Especially since they're in contention with Joshua/Hearn over money.

A CBS fight on Sunday, March 4, would have been much more meaningful.

 

I know why Kovalev and Bivol are fighting in Manhattan. New York has the biggest Russian population.

I don't understand why Wilder has all his fights in New York, he's from Alabama! Wouldn't travelling be a good idea for the HW champ to get new fans? You got Hearn making fun of him cuz most Americans don't know who he is. They couldn't hold this fight in Miami or something?

Miami has a huge Cuban population and this fight would have sold well.

 

I think Al must have some great deal with the Barclay's. I am sure its all about money.

 

They should put this fight on PPV.

 

Ward-Kovalev was a flop, nobody paying to watch Wilder-Ortiz on PPV. Nobody knows who they are.

I know that's it. But its not doing Wilder or his team better on the long-term. They're virtually unknown for a US heavyweight champion. Kind of pathetic, and I'm a Wilder fan! Its costing them potential revenue and endorsements.

 

I look at the long game. If the Joshua - Whyte fight hadn't been put on PPV in the UK, the Martin fight wouldn't have happened, and it wouldn't have led to Joshua - Klitschko which catapulted Joshua's earnings.

If Wilder - Ortiz makes enough money, Hearn and Joshua will sign at 50 - 50 and Wilder could have enough leverage to hold the fight in the US. If it flops, then at least it will have been attempted, and Wilder will drop his demands to something more reasonable. In my opinion, a successful PPV for Wilder against Ortiz would be enough to get the Joshua fight made in the summer.

If Joshua beats Parker, and doesn't fight Wilder, he will need to beat Povetkin and Pulev to keep his belts, and any Wilder fight could be pushed back to Summer 2019, at which point Fury would also become an option.

 

Joshua will have 3 of the 4 belts if they meet. He’s actively gone after them and is a far bigger name than wilder. There’s no fckin chance of a 50/50 split, And rightly so, he doesn’t deserve it. Wilders team should've been trying to make the Parker fight. Or maybe they were but Joshua probably pays a lot more

 

I don't know where your head is, but Joshua is a HUGE star in the UK. Wilder is not a huge star in the US.

Joshua-Klitchko did 90k in attendance alone, the Takam fight did 78k.

Second of all, UK PPVs cost £20, a fraction of the price of US/Canada PPVs.


They don't need to "attempt" a success/flop, they KNOW what the sales are gonna be. It won't even break 200k. All your suggestion is going to do is give Hearn even bigger leverage. You have no "long game".

 

The belts don't matter much at all. Unless Wilder generates significant value, anything he gets will be overpaying him. If he can generate $10-15m or more against Ortiz, then he will actually be something to the table at least.

Joshua and Hearn have probably offered Joseph Parker around 30%. For Wilder, I wouldn't be surprised if they weren't willing to offer at least 35% and that's without Wilder currently generating significant revenue. For example, Showtime paid $1.6m for the Joshua - Takam fight, while Wilder made $1.4m in total for the Stiverne fight. Literally, the only way for Wilder to generate more revenue is to try and convince Showtime to pay more (doubtful), sell more tickets (unlikely with Kovalev fighting on the same day, in the same city), or put the fight on PPV.

As long as the PPV generates more than $2m then any offer from Joshua/Hearn isn't going to drop from what they are already willing to offer. Anything more will get him closer to his goal of 50 - 50.