Heavyweight contender Luis Ortiz, Golden Boy Promotions part ways after buyout

Golden Boy Promotions made Luis Ortiz into a fighter fans cared about, but now Oscar De La Hoya's company and the heavyweight contender are going their separate ways.

"Today, Golden Boy Promotions and Luis Ortiz amicably parted ways," Stefan Friedman, spokesperson for Golden Boy Promotions, said in a statement Tuesday.

"We are proud of the work that Golden Boy and Luis accomplished together culminating in his WBA heavyweight interim championship victory and subsequent title defenses. We wish Luis and his team all the best in the future."

The Cuban was scheduled to meet Alexander Ustinov on the Canelo Alvarez-Amir Khan undercard, but terms couldn't be reached. Then, the plan was to place the fight on the undercard of the upcoming bout between Canelo and Liam Smith on Sept. 17.

But the Cuban's team and Golden Boy disagreed on the purse. For weeks, the sides attempted to hammer out a deal, but no resolution was reached.

Instead, manager Jay Jimenez and Team Ortiz bought out the fighter's contract for seven figures, per a person with knowledge of the deal, and now the contender will look for a new promoter. The person spoke on the condition of anonymity due to the sensitive nature of such talks. Oritz still must fight Ustinov but will now do so for less money.

Phone calls and text messages to Jimenez seeking comment were not returned.

According to the terms of the purse bid won by Ustinov's promoter, Ortiz will make $360,000 for the fight, which will land on a card in the fall.

Under Golden Boy's eye, Ortiz blossomed into a top-10 heavyweight at the age of 37 and went on to headline two HBO shows.

The southpaw's victory over Bryant Jennings in December remains a career-best performance and showed fans the type of fighter Oritz is: a big heavyweight with crushing power and surprising movement.

But now the job of securing Ortiz a title shot will fall on someone else's shoulders.

( Photo of Ortiz by HoganPhotos)