Photo credit: Naoki Fukuda

Luis “King Kong” Ortiz finally found someone willing to face him.

The often-ducked Ortiz (24-0, 21 knockouts) will take the next step in his rise up the heavyweight ladder with a scheduled March 5 date against Alexander Dimitrenko (38-2, 24 knockouts) at the D.C. Armory in Washington, D.C., a source confirmed to RingTV.

The heavyweight bout will headline the show with U.S. Olympian Sadam Ali taking on former titlist Jessie Vargas in the co-feature.

The Cuban left-hander and Ring No. 5-rated heavyweight sent a jolt through the division when he took apart Bryant Jennings in December, stopping him in the seventh round in his debut on HBO.

While a number of heavyweights these days have taken up the sport at a late age, Ortiz, 36, has a resume that screams boxing lifer.

He had over 350 amateur fights as a member of the Cuban National Team.

Ortiz was suspended for eight months last year for testing positive for the anabolic steroid nandrolone in the wake of a 2014 first-round knockout of Lateef Kayode. The result was changed to a no-contest. Ortiz has won three fights since.

Mitch Abramson can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter

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