Luis Ortiz
Ortiz is not phased by Wider's verbal jibes getty

Luis Ortiz has warned Deontay Wilder that he must back up his verbal jibes when the pair go toe-to-toe in the ring on 3 March and has told the Bronze Bomber to get serious or soon become acquainted with the canvas.

Wilder's bout with Ortiz was initially scheduled to take place on 4 November, but the meeting between the undefeated pair had to be postponed after the latter tested positive for two banned diuretics.

The WBC champion agreed to give the Cuban, seen as the 32-year-old's toughest opponent of his professional career, a second chance at his belt and has spoken at length about how he will send Ortiz to the deck in "devastating fashion" and send a message to Anthony Joshua in the process; Wilder has expressed his desire to go to war with 'AJ' if he manages to beat Joseph Parker next month, but promoter Eddie Hearn has questioned how serious he is about fighting his prized heavyweight.

Wilder is unsurprisingly confident of securing the 39th knockout victory of his career and doesn't think Ortiz will last more than four rounds, but the 38-year-old, who has knocked out 24 of his 28 professional career opponents, is not perturbed by the American's taunts and has warned his adversary that, unlike some of the previous fighters he's faced, he is not to be taken lightly.

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

"He's going to knock me out? I want to watch him try. I'm not like those other guys he fought. I'm a real fighter. Tough and with a lot of experience. I've been fighting since I was 10 years old.

"He doesn't intimidate me. His trash talk makes me laugh. It's just a lot of noise. I'm hungry. I'm doing this for my family. He better take me seriously because he's going to find himself on the canvas before he knows it.

"I'm going to show the world who 'King Kong' is."