Three world title fights from tonight’s (March 5, 2016) DC Armory event in Washington D.C. will air on HBO in prime time. The Heavyweight 12 round bout between interim WBA titleholder Luis Ortiz and Tony Thompson sees the hard-hitting Cuban Ortiz come in a wide favorite, paying -3400. The comeback on Thompson is paying +1700. Ortiz made a big splash in his last outing, when he KO’d well regarded Bryant Jennings in the seventh round this last December.The win was his second defense of the WBO’s “interim” trinket and it was his 21st KO, making his record 24-0 overall. Thompson is a long in the tooth veteran who has had a late career resurgence defeating up and coming fighters who thought he would a stepping stone. The problem for Thompson is that Ortiz looks to be a cut above the level of David Price or Odlanier Solis. Ortiz will have to work to impress against Thompson, who is a fighter whose style makes other fighters look bad. The vacant WBO World title at Welterweight is up for grabs as undefeated prospect Sadam Ali (22-0) faces Jessie Vargas (26-1). Ali is favored, paying -265 with the comeback on Vargas returning +225. Ali was an Olympian in 2008, but he did not medal. He has shined as a professional and has been considered an up and coming prospect for several years. He has held titles at the International and Inter-Contiental levels with the WBA and WBO and this is his first chance at a world title. Vargas is coming off an eight month layoff after losing to Timothy Bradley Jr last June. Vargas is a former world champion at Super Lightweight and many people feel he had a strong showing against Bradley in his return to the welterweight division. Interim WBC Featherweight title fight sees Robinson Castellanos a -300 favorite over Oscar Escandon, who is returning at +250. Castellanos has an average record of 23-11, but he has gone 13-1 in his last 14 fights to earn his first world title shot. Escandon is 24-2 overall and he briefly held the WBA’s Interim title at Super Bantamweight. Escandon has fought as a featherweight before, but he only fought once in 2015. The live event is promoted by Golden Boy and 10 fights are currently on the schedule.
