Alexander “The Great” Flores previewed his showdown against top heavyweight contender Luis “King Kong” Ortiz on a media conference call Tuesday, before they headline FOX PBC Fight Night and on FOX Deportes this Saturday, November 7 from Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles.
The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. ET/5 p.m. PT and will see rising unbeaten heavyweight contender Frank “The Cuban Flash” Sánchez battle Brian Howard in the 10-round co-main event. Plus, undefeated Michael Coffie steps in to face hard-hitting Joey Abell in an eight-round heavyweight duel.
The event will be promoted by TGB Promotions and will take place without fans in attendance at the Microsoft Theater, an AEG venue, in downtown Los Angeles.
Here is what Flores had to say about training camp, his matchup with Ortiz, both of their places in the heavyweight division and more:
“Training camp has been going really well. I’m always in shape year around. We were already aiming for a November fight, so when this fight against Ortiz presented itself, we jumped on it. We’re ready to take advantage of this opportunity,” Flores said.
“I got the call about Ortiz over six weeks ago. I just had to adjust to southpaw sparring but everything else kept going smoothly. It was tough to find sparring during the pandemic, but I was blessed to find some great quality southpaws to work with.
“Ortiz is a great fighter. He’s still one of the most feared men in the division. A lot of the people on his level don’t want to fight him. His only losses coming against Deontay Wilder says everything about his quality.
“Whenever you fight at that caliber that Ortiz has been at, I know you’re going to know what you need to do in training. But, the older you get, the harder it is to recover. It doesn’t get easier. Maybe his age will show up Saturday night.
“I thought Ortiz was beating Wilder in the second fight. I think he just relaxed at the 10 second mark and got caught with that straight right hand at the end of the round.
“I do think it’s possible I’m being overlooked by Ortiz. I’m just focused on what I can control. I know that one day I might not get these opportunities anymore, so I have to jump all over this one.
“Beating Ortiz will put me up with the top heavyweights. I think a win is going to definitely lead to a world title fight sooner rather than later.
“I’m expecting the best Luis Ortiz on Saturday night. I’m preparing for the same guy who was beating Deontay Wilder twice.”