The heavyweight division has been white-hot over the last year, largely thanks to Saudi Arabia’s investment in boxing. Riyadh Season has already hosted eight showcase cards over the last year around the world, with another one set for December 21.

Oleksandr Usyk, Tyson Fury, Anthony Joshua, Daniel Dubois, Joseph Parker, Zhilei Zhang, Martin Bakole, Agit Kabayel, Fabio Wardley, Deontay Wilder, Andy Ruiz Jr., Jarrell Miller, Jared Anderson, Filip Hrgovic, Frank Sanchez, Arslanbek Makhmudov, Frazer Clarke and Otto Wallin have all enjoyed the opportunities and handsome purses presented by Turki Alalshikh, chairman of the General Entertainment Authority in Saudi Arabia.

Several contenders have catapulted their careers while others have taken serious steps back. And then there is two-time heavyweight title challenger Luis Ortiz (34-3, 29 KOs), who at 45 years old, has been stuck on the outside of the heavyweight carnival looking in. 

Ortiz has fought only once in the last two years, which produced a first-round KO of Francisco Cordero in Colombia in January. In recent years, Ortiz has suffered competitive knockout losses to Wilder in 2018 and 2019, a TKO win against Charles Martin in 2021, and a unanimous decision loss to Ruiz in 2022.

Although Ortiz’s longtime head coach Germán Caicedo is preparing “King Kong” to be ready for any potential opportunities, he’s grown frustrated that his Cuban southpaw charge is not getting the calls others have enjoyed to further show he’s still a threat in a loaded division. 

“We’re willing to fight anyone,” Caicedo told BoxingScene. “It hasn't been easy his entire career getting people to fight him because he is so much of a high-risk opponent. He's been the most avoided fighter in boxing. He's never ducked anyone or said no to a fight. 

“I know that [Ortiz handlers] Al Haymon and Luis Decubas Jr. are trying to get him a fight. But everyone turns him down or wants too much money. There aren't millions of dollars to give an up-and-coming young guy to fight Luis. And the top guys are just staying away from him and don't even mention him. It's difficult.

“He's a little bit older and has a great name but they still don't want to fight him. He's too good. He's technical. He's a power puncher. They don't want to get beat up by an older guy. It won't look good on them. It takes a special individual to want to fight Luis. There are not too many of those.”

Against Ruiz nearly 25 months ago, although Ortiz was dropped three times, he won seven rounds on one scorecard and six rounds on the other two, making his presence felt in even a unanimous decision loss.

“The Andy Ruiz fight proved that he is not shot and over the hill,” said Caicedo. “I don't know why Turki Alalshikh hasn't gotten interested in Luis fighting some of the top guys at his events. The guys in the division played their cards right by avoiding him. There was no reason for him not to fight everyone. It's out of our control. But now it's just about getting him active again. Time is running out.”

Manouk Akopyan is a sports journalist, writer and broadcast reporter whose work has appeared on ESPN, Fox Sports, USA Today, The Guardian, Newsweek, Men’s Health, NFL.com, Los Angeles Times, Philadelphia Inquirer, Ring Magazine, and more. He’s been writing for BoxingScene since 2018. Manouk is a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America and the MMA Journalists Association. He can be reached on , , and , through email at manouk[dot]akopyan[at]gmail.com or via .