On 24 October 2018, Ortiz's manager Jay Jimenez announced that a deal had been reached for Ortiz to fight American boxer Travis Kauffman (32-2) on the Deontay Wilder-Tyson Fury Showtime PPV card on 1 December at the Staples Center in Los Angeles, California. The fight, along with the rest of the card was finalized on 9 November. Before the fight was announced, Ortiz and Dillian Whyte called each other out. Ortiz offered Whyte a fight on the 1 December card and Whyte offered Ortiz a chance to fight him on 22 December in London. Ortiz accepted Whyte's offer, however promoter Eddie Hearn stated Dillian Whyte vs. Dereck Chisora made more sense in the UK. In the build up to his fight against Ortiz, Kauffman questioned Ortiz's wins on his resume after multiple failed drug tests. At the same time, he also praised Ortiz's boxing skills. Ortiz stepped on the scales at 241 pounds and Kauffman weighed 229 pounds. For the fight, Ortiz was guaranteed $375,000 compared to Kauffman's $125,000 purse. On fight night, Ortiz dropped Kauffman three times before winning the fight via TKO in the final round. The official time of stoppage was 1 minute and 58 seconds of round 10. Ortiz dominated every round leading to the stoppage, however Kauffman was always standing infront of him and showed a good chin and heart, even switching to the southpaw stance, where he had some success. Ortiz was twice warned for low blows. In round 6, Ortiz landed an overhand left which dropped Kauffman to the canvas. Ortiz, believing he won, stood on the top ropes and did his signature chest pounding. Kauffman beat the count and finished the round. Another overhand left, this time to Kauffman's jaw, dropped him for a second time in the first minute of round 8. Kauffman slowly got up and again beat the count and saw out the remainder of the round. In the first minute of round 10, Ortiz landed another overhand left, dropping Kauffman a third time. After Kauffman beat the count, Ortiz piled on the pressure with numerous power shots, mostly unanswered, forcing referee Thomas Taylor to step in and stop the fight. Ortiz landed 135 punches in comparison to the 37 punches landed by Kauffman. Ortiz landed 69 power punches in total. After the fight, Ortiz stated he was looking for fight Wilder. British boxer Joe Joyce, who also boxed on the card, called out Ortiz. Ortiz later accepted, stating he does not turn down a challenge.