# Luis Ortiz (Cuban boxer)
**Luis Ortiz** (born 1979) is a Cuban professional heavyweight boxer, nicknamed "King Kong", who fought [Deontay Wilder](https://www.edgepedia.org/deontay-wilder) twice for the WBC world heavyweight title and held the WBA interim heavyweight title from 2015 to 2016. A southpaw from Camagüey, Cuba, he turned professional only in 2010 at about age 30 after defecting from Cuba, where professional boxing had been barred, and compiled a professional record of 34 wins, 3 losses, and 0 draws with a 78 percent knockout rate according to the [World Boxing Association](https://www.edgepedia.org/world-boxing-association).[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463)
| Key fact | Detail |
|---|---|
| Born | 1979, Camagüey, Cuba; based in Miami, Florida[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) • [2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba)) |
| Style | Southpaw; height 6 ft 4 in (193 cm), reach 78 in (213 cm)[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) • [2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba)) |
| Amateur career | Reported 343-19; silver medalist at the 2005 World Cup in Moscow and 2005 Panamerican Championships gold medalist at 91 kg[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) • [2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba)) |
| Professional record | 34-3-0, 78% by knockout (WBA); Tapology lists 35-3-0[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) • [3](https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/202777-luis-ortiz-king-kong) |
| Highest honor | WBA interim world heavyweight champion (won October 2015); WBA No. 1-ranked contender through 2016-2017[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) |
| Title fights | Lost to Deontay Wilder by 10th-round KO (March 2018) and 7th-round KO (November 2019); lost to Andy Ruiz Jr. on points (September 2022)[4](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/news/luis-king-kong-ortiz-greatest-hits) • [5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/50534701) • [2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba)) |
| Drug suspensions | 2014 positive for nandrolone (Kayode fight ruled No Contest); 2017 VADA positive for chlorothiazide and hydrochlorothiazide[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) • [2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba)) |
## Amateur career in Cuba
Ortiz was an outstanding figure of Cuba's national amateur team, a [Pan American Games](https://www.edgepedia.org/pan-american-games) medalist in Rio 2009, and finished his amateur career with a reported record of 343 wins and 19 losses.[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) BoxRec's amateur highlights list a purported record of 349-19, along with a silver medal at the 2005 World Cup team competition in Moscow, gold at the 2005 Panamerican Championships in [Teresópolis](https://www.edgepedia.org/teresopolis), Brazil, and a 2006 Cuban National Championship at 91 kg, with quarter-final appearances at the 2005 World Championships in Mianyang, China.[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba)) He also helped Cuba win a silver medal at the 2005 Boxing World Cup.[6](https://as.com/us/masdeporte/quien-es-luis-ortiz-y-por-que-le-apodan-king-kong-al-rival-de-andy-ruiz-n/)
[Professional boxing](https://www.edgepedia.org/professional-boxing) was barred by the Cuban government for five decades, so Ortiz, despite two decades of amateur experience, could not earn money from his talents without leaving the island.[7](https://www.caymaniantimes.ky/documents/2019-11-25-17-50-51-CT459web.pdf)
## Defection and professional start
Ortiz defected from Cuba in 2009, hoping a professional career could fund better care for his daughter Lismercedes, who suffers from epidermolysis bullosa, a rare skin disorder that causes painful blistering; he spent two and a half years away from his family, including his then four-year-old daughter, before they flourished in the United States, with his daughter receiving treatments at Stanford University.[8](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/node/29971)
He debuted as a professional on 16 February 2010, stopping the American Lamar Davis by first-round technical knockout in Florida.[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) Between 2010 and 2012 he fought 19 times in the United States, the [Dominican Republic](https://www.edgepedia.org/dominican-republic), Panama, Costa Rica, and [Nicaragua](https://www.edgepedia.org/nicaragua).[9](https://www.secondsout.com/features/state-of-the-heavyweights-top-ten-year-in-revi/) With a personal record of 15-0 he collected regional titles sanctioned by the WBO and WBC, including the WBC FECARBOX, WBA Fedelatin, WBC Latino, and WBO Latino heavyweight belts.[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) • [2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba))
## Interim WBA champion
In September 2014 Ortiz beat Lateef Kayode in Nevada, but the fight was declared a No Contest after he tested positive for a prohibited substance; the Nevada State Athletic Commission suspended his license, and a WBA resolution of 3 February 2015 vacated his title recognition and suspended him for eight months, ending 11 May 2015, conditioned on random testing at his expense.[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) BoxRec records the original sanction as a one-year suspension later reduced to nine months.[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba))
He won the interim WBA world heavyweight title on 10 October 2015, knocking out the Argentine Matias Vidondo in three rounds at [Madison Square Garden](https://www.edgepedia.org/madison-square-garden), and made one successful defense, stopping [Bryant Jennings](https://www.edgepedia.org/bryant-jennings) by seventh-round knockout in December 2015.[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) On 5 March 2016 he defeated Tony Thompson by sixth-round knockout in a non-title bout.[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) The WBA ranked him its No. 1 heavyweight contender continuously from late 2015 through 2017, and a planned mandatory defense against Alexander Ustinov was arranged by the WBA championship committee before the parties agreed on terms and the purse bid was canceled.[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463)
## The Wilder fights
Ortiz's shot at a major world title came as the WBC's top contender against unbeaten champion Deontay Wilder on 3 March 2018 in Brooklyn, New York, shortly before Ortiz turned 39.[10](https://boxingnewsonline.net/news/luis-ortiz-say-hello-to-the-bad-guy/) He entered 28-0 with 24 knockouts.[11](https://as.com/masdeporte/2018/02/26/polideportivo/1519683842_540275.html) Ortiz badly hurt Wilder with a right-left combination in the seventh round, but lost by a tenth-round knockout.[4](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/news/luis-king-kong-ortiz-greatest-hits)
The rematch took place on 22 November 2019 at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas. Ortiz out-boxed Wilder for six rounds before Wilder, defending his WBC title for the tenth time, found a stunning knockout in the seventh.[5](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/50534701) Ortiz entered that fight 41-1 with 26 knockouts and had dropped two and a half kilograms in a conditioning-focused camp.[12](https://as.com/masdeporte/2019/11/23/polideportivo/1574507936_478697.html) In September 2017, before the first Wilder fight, a VADA test under the WBC Clean Boxing Program was reported positive for the diuretics chlorothiazide and hydrochlorothiazide, which treat high blood pressure but can serve as masking agents.[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba))
## Later career
Ortiz stopped former IBF champion Charles Martin on 1 January 2022 in a fight designated an IBF title eliminator, a win that counts among his victories over former or current world champions.[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba)) • [1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) In his next fight he lost on points to [Andy Ruiz Jr.](https://www.edgepedia.org/andy-ruiz-jr) in Los Angeles on 3 September 2022.[1](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463) • [6](https://as.com/us/masdeporte/quien-es-luis-ortiz-y-por-que-le-apodan-king-kong-al-rival-de-andy-ruiz-n/) His championship-level record stands at 1-3 against former or current world champions: a win over Charles Martin and losses to Deontay Wilder twice and Andy Ruiz Jr.[2](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba))
He has not fought since 2022. In a 2026 interview at age 47, Ortiz said he was still training while waiting for a farewell fight, expressing frustration at remaining outside the heavyweight picture while other fighters of his generation stayed active.[13](https://www.elnuevoherald.com/deportes/boxeo/article315825849.html)
## Style and assessment
Ortiz boxes as a southpaw with what Boxing News described as surprising grace for a heavyweight and natural composure built on repeated fundamentals, seeing openings other heavyweights cannot.[10](https://boxingnewsonline.net/news/luis-ortiz-say-hello-to-the-bad-guy/) His trainer Herman Caicedo called him the most skilled heavyweight in the division, crediting the Cuban national system's emphasis on discipline and skill.[8](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/node/29971) Analysts at Bad Left Hook identified his mobility, power, and boxing intelligence, expressed through a counter-punching style, while questioning the depth of his opposition and his ability to take a punch.[14](https://www.badlefthook.com/2016/3/7/11174146/how-good-is-luis-ortiz) His age has also drawn scrutiny, with commentators noting that developing-world recordkeeping leaves open the possibility that he is older than listed.[14](https://www.badlefthook.com/2016/3/7/11174146/how-good-is-luis-ortiz)
## References
1. [Boxer: LUIS ORTIZ, WBA boxer profile](https://www.wbaboxing.com/wba-boxer-profile?id=1463)
2. [Luis Ortiz (of Cuba), BoxRec wiki](https://boxrec.com/wiki/index.php/Luis_Ortiz_(of_Cuba))
3. [Luis Ortiz ("King Kong") boxer page, Tapology](https://www.tapology.com/fightcenter/fighters/202777-luis-ortiz-king-kong)
4. [Luis "King Kong" Ortiz: The Greatest Hits, Premier Boxing Champions](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/news/luis-king-kong-ortiz-greatest-hits)
5. [Deontay Wilder knocks out Luis Ortiz to defend WBC world title in Las Vegas, BBC Sport](https://www.bbc.co.uk/sport/boxing/50534701)
6. [¿Quién es Luis Ortiz y por qué le apodan 'King Kong'?, AS](https://as.com/us/masdeporte/quien-es-luis-ortiz-y-por-que-le-apodan-king-kong-al-rival-de-andy-ruiz-n/)
7. [International Sports, Caymanian Times (25 November 2019)](https://www.caymaniantimes.ky/documents/2019-11-25-17-50-51-CT459web.pdf)
8. [Luis Ortiz Applies Lessons of the Past, Premier Boxing Champions](https://www.premierboxingchampions.com/node/29971)
9. [State Of The Heavyweights: Top Ten Year In Review, Seconds Out](https://www.secondsout.com/features/state-of-the-heavyweights-top-ten-year-in-revi/)
10. [Luis Ortiz: Say Hello to the Bad Guy, Boxing News](https://boxingnewsonline.net/news/luis-ortiz-say-hello-to-the-bad-guy/)
11. [Wilder se examina ante Ortiz, AS](https://as.com/masdeporte/2018/02/26/polideportivo/1519683842_540275.html)
12. [Wilder, all in ante Luis Ortiz, AS](https://as.com/masdeporte/2019/11/23/polideportivo/1574507936_478697.html)
13. [Tengo mucho petróleo en el tanque: veterano cubano mantiene viva la esperanza de volver al ring, El Nuevo Herald](https://www.elnuevoherald.com/deportes/boxeo/article315825849.html)
14. [How good is Luis Ortiz?, Bad Left Hook](https://www.badlefthook.com/2016/3/7/11174146/how-good-is-luis-ortiz)
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*Initially written Sep 17, 2026 · Reviewed: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Edited: Sep 30, 2026; Oct 12, 2026; Oct 15, 2026; Oct 21, 2026 · Last review: Oct 21, 2026*
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