Deontay Wilder

Wilder, who has promised to face Anthony Joshua if he beats Joseph Parker, will defend his world title belt for a seventh time when he takes on Ortiz at the Barclays Centre, New York, on March 3, live on Sky Sports.

The two fighters head into this bout undefeated, and Ortiz is confident he can knock out the 'Bronze Bomber', insisting he is the toughest opponent Wilder has ever come up against.

"He's talking too much. He's going to have to back that up in the ring," said Ortiz. "He says he's going to kill 'King Kong'.

The highly-anticipated bout will see Joshua and Parker put their IBF, WBA Super, IBO and WBO belts and unbeaten records on the line, as both fighters aim to become the first undisputed heavyweight champion since Lennox Lewis in 1999.

Many pundits out of the UK believe Joshua's size and skill will prove too much for Parker at the Principality Stadium on April 1 (NZ time), but Wilder has a different perspective.

Speaking to Andrew Gourdie and Jim Kayes on RadioLIVE's Sunday Sport, Wilder issued a warning not to be deceived by the Briton's chiselled physique.

In taking the fight with fellow unbeaten fighter Ortiz, Wilder has accepted what is widely considered his greatest test yet.

He will be making the sixth defence of his title on March 3 having in November stopped Bermane Stiverne, when a match-up with Ortiz was cancelled after the 38-year-old Cuban tested positive for banned substances in a drugs test.

Ortiz avoided a ban after the WBC found he had taken diuretics for high blood pressure, although he was fined.

The fight will be Wilder's seventh defence of the WBC heavyweight world title.

The 32-year-old American, who last fought in November when he beat Haitian-Canadian Bermane Stiverne with a first-round knockout to retain his WBC heavyweight title, was arrested in Alabama last June.

Wilder, who received a 30-day suspended sentence and two years of probation on Friday (NZ time), was ordered to perform the community service at a local YMCA.

"We respect the court's ruling. Of course we were hoping a dismissal would be granted," Wilder's lawyer, Paul Patterson, said in a phone interview.

Fury has not fought since sensationally beating Wladimir Klitschko in Dusseldorf two years ago to claim the IBF, WBO and WBA heavyweight titles.

The 29-year-old gave up his belts last year amid a battle with mental health issues and had his licence revoked after allegations of a failed drugs test. 

British Boxing Board of Control general secretary Robert Smith said Fury's UK Anti-Doping (UKAD) hearing can resume when his legal team agree a date.

Undefeated Wilder beat Stiverne in January 2015 to win the WBC belt - the only one of his 38 fights to go the distance - and has successfully defended his title five times since.

However, a proposed defence against Luis Ortiz at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn fell through when the former WBA champion failed a drug test.

It was followed by Anthony Joshua's Principality Stadium showdown against Kubrat Pulev being changed late on when the Bulgarian suffered a shoulder injury. IBO, WBA, IBF champion Joshua takes on Carlos Takam in Cardiff on Saturday.

Parker defended his WBO world heavyweight title against Hughie Fury in Manchester on September 24, getting a controversial majority points decision 114-114, 118-110, 118-110.

The Fury camp has been up in arms about the decision, appealing to the British Boxing Board of Control who handled the fight for the WBO, and pleading for a rematch.

The Parker camp, backed by many pundits, believe their man won comfortably, though admitted the scoring by two judges who handed 10 of the 12 rounds to the Kiwi were a little generous.READ MORE:
 

Wilder is rehabbing injuries sustained in the fourth defence of his WBC heavyweight title and expects Joshua, the IBF champion, to find a "willing and determined" opponent in Eric Molina on December 10, live on Sky Sports Box Office.

Wilder believes Molina was chosen as a challenger partly to introduce Joshua to an American audience with a view to a blockbuster unification bout next year.