Chicago cruiserweight fighter Dimar “Strongman” Ortuz is in heavy preparations for another tough war, this one on Thanksgiving Eve at Hitz Boxing’s “Fight Night at the Horseshoe” boxing event on Wednesday, November 21, 2012, at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, Indiana.
The undefeated (5-0, 3 KOs) 31-year-old Ortuz wowed Horseshoe fans last August with his savage battle against then-undefeated (8-0) Donta Woods, grinding Woods down and dropping him twice in an eight-round thriller. And now he is back in the co-featured bout, taking on UFC veteran and undefeated power-punching fellow Chicago native Terry Martin (5-0, 5 KOs).
To put it mildly, this fight has explosive written all over it.
“He called me out!” explained Ortuz of the dangerous match-up. “I heard through everybody that he wanted this, so it’s on. I don’t back down from any challenge.”
Ortuz, who took eight years off boxing after winning the Chicago Golden Gloves in 2002, has had an added obstacle to face in preparation for this fight.
“I tore my calf muscle about three weeks ago which took me out for a week and a half. I’m slowly getting back into the pace of it, building up cardio to make up for the time I spent off. I’m also doing a lot more running up and down stairs, rebuilding the strength in my calf. I’ll be fine.”
Ortuz says he and Martin are former sparring partners and although he is careful to never seem arrogant, when asked who got the better he replied: “I know he’s got a hard hook and a good inside game and he holds a lot, but I present a difficult style to a lot of fighters. A lot of guys have difficulty sparring me. Put it that way.”
Ortuz intended to relocate to New York City, but had such a great experience at the Horseshoe in his last fight, he’s decided to postpone.
“I sat down and talked to Bobby (Hitz) about leaving and what he can do for me, and I decided to give Bobby a shot and test the waters. If I don’t have to go far from home to fight as much as I want, why go? New York was an option because they had fights scheduled for me throughout the year and I’m looking to fight around eight times a year. Bobby does lots of shows, so he can probably keep me busy.”
A hard-nosed throwback type of fighter who brings relentless pressure, Ortuz says he’s not sure how the fight will unfold.
“My trainer, Sam Colonna, was also Terry’s trainer, so that’s an advantage. We’ve been working on a game plan. Sam knows a lot of his weaknesses and we’ve worked on targeting some of them. I won’t say I’ll get the KO because anybody who goes in saying they’ll KO someone is too confident. I’m going to box. I didn’t expect to put Donta Woods down and I put him down twice. I’ll keep doing what I do. I’m just going to give it all I can for six rounds and really go after him.”
In the night’s eight-round main event, Hitz will unveil his new heavyweight contender, Andrey Fedosov (22-2, 18 KOs) the former WBC Youth Heavyweight Champion from Shuya, Russia. In his Horseshoe debut, Fedosov will face comebacking former NABA Champion “Rockin” Rodney Moore (17-6-2, 7 KOs) from Houston, Texas.
In another notable six-round encounter, Chicago (via Lithuania) middleweight slugger Donatas Bondorovas (15-3-1, 4 KOs) will take on Evansville, Indiana’s “King” David Thomas (10-2-2, 8 KOs).
