WBA Interim heavyweight champion Luis “The Real King Kong” Ortiz will be making his first title defense for 2016 as he faces a dangerous Tony Thompson on March 5 at the DC Armory in Washington D.C.

Ortiz will be looking to follow up his previous win over Bryant Jennings back in December where he won via knockout in the 7th round. That win improved his overall record to 24-0 win-loss, and now he is looking to make Thompson victim no. 25.

Against Thompson, however, that could be easier said than done.

The 44-year-old southpaw carries a lot of experience against Ortiz. Though he lost the last time against Malik Scott (October 2015), the fact remains that he is a seasoned fighter. To his credit, Thompson has already faced big foes such as Wladimir Klitschko, Odlanier Solis and David Price.

“If you look at my competition and his (Ortiz), it’s not even close. This isn’t the amateurs. I’m going to use my experience as a professional to take him places he’s never been,” said a confident Thompson via USA Today.

For his part, Ortiz is simply looking forward to the upcoming tilt, which he considers another stepping stone to become the unified heavyweight champion.

“My life is coming full circle, and I know that this fight will put me a step closer to achieving everything I have worked so hard for in my career,” said Ortiz.

Ortiz is another one of the new and upcoming boxers in the heavyweight division. Though Thompson brings in tons of experience this March, “The Real King Kong” is someone who perfectly mixes together movement, power and size.

The only downside so far for Ortiz is how he stays clean. He was suspended back in 2014 after testing positive to nandrolone. The results came out after his first-round knockout of Lateef Kayode.

Thompson was actually not the original opponent that Ortiz was supposed to face.

A couple of weeks ago, Ortiz was supposed to face Alexander Dimitrenko. Though both sides verbally came to an agreement, the Russian reportedly asked for more money, as per a report from ESPN.

Though it wasn’t clear, it seems that Dimitrenko got the idea from the fact that other boxers turned down a possible match with Ortiz.

“In the 11th hour, unrealistic financial requests were made and I immediately notified Golden Boy of the change of heart. To their credit, [Golden Boy] did come up with a structure to pay him more money in an effort to keep the fight intact, but the kid was unwilling to sign a contract,” said fight promoter Greg Cohen when the Russian chose not to sign the contract.