Is Wilder-Ortiz 2 an unwanted sequel?

When news broke out last night that Deontay Wilder was going to take on Luis Ortiz in his next title defense late Tuesday night, my knee jerk reaction was that like so many in the boxing community and thought I could think of another rematch I’d rather see. Then, I was reminded of the chain of events that led us to this matchup, to begin with, and not only should we have seen this coming but should accept this unwanted sequel for what it is.

This fight taking place is a reminder that we are all at the mercy of the Bronze Bomber and whoever he wants to face.

Sure, Anthony Joshua has the WBO, IBF and WBA heavyweight titles, but after he takes on Andy Ruiz Jr. Saturday, who is he going to match up with next on his end? Wilder taking on Ortiz means at least until 2020 for their much-anticipated matchup and one would assume that Joshua would want to face someone either in the late fall/early 2020. Even then, he’d more than likely have to face a mandatory from one of the three sanctioning bodies from one of the straps he’s carrying. Kubrat Pulev comes to mind soon since he maintained his #1 contender’s status in March.

Lineal champion Tyson Fury after he takes on Tom Schwarz is the odd man out however one would say that may be intentional on his part. He initially stopped the rematch talks to sign with Top Rank and will have to go their litter of heavyweights in terms of opposition. If Schwarz is a sign of any of them, here’s hoping he’ll challenge someone with a more prominent name.

Wilder v Ortiz II ?????

To all my fans,
I want to announce that Luis Ortiz and I have signed for a rematch, with the date and site to be announced shortly.
All my controversial fights
Must get dealt with ASAP‼️#BombZquad pic.twitter.com/RZs7vLEhaj

— Deontay Wilder (@BronzeBomber) May 28, 2019

Which brings us back to the rematch of Wilder taking on Luis Ortiz. While they had a crazy fight in March of 2018, Ortiz looked 40 going on 400 walking into the ring after Wilder did quick work of Dominic Breazeale for the post-fight stare down.

For Ortiz, this fight is a promised rematch for him after his camp depending on your view either overplayed their hand or with this upcoming wanted no dealings of a potential title shot against Anthony Joshua. Ortiz was on the short list of names mentioned once Jarrell Miller tested positive for performance-enhancing drugs and instead went to Andy Ruiz Jr. after failed negations.

The reasons why this rematch being set up is unwanted is three simple questions:

Is this a fight anyone in the boxing community clamored to see again? Not really.
Does anyone think Ortiz has more than a puncher’s chance when they face-off again? Not at all.
With speculation of this possibly being on pay-per-view, will you be breaking the piggy bank to see this? Not so much.

Wilder said during his media rounds for Breazeale for everyone to be patient and give him some time for the matchups we all wanted to see.

This unwanted sequel so far is undoubtedly is a test in that patience.