Things you didn't know about Luca D'Ortenzi
Lewisham's Ellis Zorro (16-0, 7KO) will make first defence of his newly won WBO European cruiserweight title at London’s York Hall on Friday 15 September, live on TNT Sports.
Cruiserweight Zorro, 30, took ownership of the championship in May, applying a spectacular finish following a gruelling battle with former British light heavyweight champion Hosea Burton.
The south Londoner now makes his maiden title defence to Luca D'Ortenzi (17-3, 4KO), who is no stranger to championship fights, but he is unknown to British boxing fans, having never fought in the UK before.
So here's a bunch of facts about the visiting fighter to get to know him better before fight night:
Luca D'Ortenzi was born in Roma, Italy, on April 15, 1988.
His amateur record was 21-4 and was a regional champion.
He lives in Guidonia Montecelio with his family.
His boxing nickname is 'Gentleman'.
He trains at the Nike Gym with coach Simone Autorino. They have worked together for over 10 years.
He won his pro debut in June 2016 with a third-round TKO over Elidon Gaba in his home region of Lazio.
The fledgling pro won his first eight bouts, then stepped up to challenge for the Italian cruiserweight title in July 2018, falling slightly short to 29-3 Salvatore Erittu, with scores of 94-96 twice and 93-97.
Two fights later, in July 2019, he won the Italian heavyweight championship with an eighth-round TKO.
Then he won the IBF Mediterranean crusierweight title, three months later in October 2019, then he later added the IBO International (2021) and IBF International belts (2022) to his collection.
He is the No.1 ranked cruiserweight in Italy.
He fought in the WSB (World Series of Boxing) for Italia Thunder.
His boxing heroes include Evander Holyfield, James Toney and Marvin Hagler.
He has a huge tattoo of a skull on his chest flanked by roses, with guns and boxing gloves obove, alongside many other tatts all over his body.
A fan of swimming, he likes to frequently go for a dip in the Lago di Tovel in Trentino, which is regarded as one of the most beautiful lakes in Italy.
He is a busy family man with his partner and their baby girl called Lavinia, born January 12 this year; and a pet British Bulldog.
The football fan supports A.S. Roma.
His favourite bands include Blink 182, Linkin park and Bon Jovi.
Stats
Bouts: 20
Rounds: 136
Wins: 17
Losses: 3
Draws: 0
KOs: 4
KO Ratio: 23.53%
Age: 35
Height: 6' 1"
Stance: Orthodox
Quotes
Luca D'Ortenzi: “I am very excited to fight in London in the York Hall which is a very famous hall of English boxing!! It will be awesome.”
Ellis Zorro: “I think this is the quickest turn-around I’ve had since I was fighting on small hall shows. I think that is what I was looking forward to with winning a title and then defending it.
“I’ve gone from, trying to get on a card and sitting around after winning the Boxxer, to headlining and winning a title and now headlining again to defend it. I am over the moon, to be honest with you, I am happy it is at York Hall again and my last two have been good fights for the fans.
“I am looking forward to it, I am not being over-confident, I am just over the moon to be this active because I haven’t been since I was fighting journeymen. I am just really happy.”
Promoter Frank Warren: “Once again this tremendous stage offers the opportunity for new champions to top up their experience at a higher level and for prospects to turn themselves into potential contenders.
“It is such a valuable platform for our young fighters to develop and it is delivering the results we intended, with both Ellis Zorro and Willy Hutchinson showing such promising signs of what is to come from them in years to come.
“Ellis and Willy were so impressive against strong opposition last time out and they made statements in the ring that got people talking and excited about future fights.
“At York Hall this time there is also a first title opportunity for the undefeated Masood Abdulah and I am also looking forward to seeing the progress made by the rest of the young fighters on the card who are closing in on title contention themselves.”
Tickets
Tickets for the York Hall show on Friday 15 September are on sale now available from: ticketmaster.co.uk.
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