NEW YORK — Deontay Wilder will defend his piece of the heavyweight title Nov. 4 against Canada’s Bermane Stiverne, after original opponent Luis Ortiz was scratched because of a positive drug test.
Wilder will make the defence at Barclays Center in Brooklyn against the same fighter he won the WBC version of the title from in January 2015.
Ortiz was scratched from the card after the WBC withdrew its sanction because of the positive test last week. Ortiz, who in 2014 was suspended for a positive steroid test, was found to have taken two banned diuretics that are often used as masking agents for steroids.
Stiverne had been scheduled to fight Dominic Breazeale on the undercard after taking a payout to allow Ortiz to fight for the title. Instead, he will be on the main event of the card, which will be televised by Showtime.
Wilder (38-0, 37 KOs) will be making his sixth title defence against Stiverne (25-2-1, 21 KOs), who he beat by a lopsided decision in their first fight to win the title.
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