Rising super-welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz Jr has established himself as one of the strongest pound-for-pound punchers in the sport, amassing a perfect record of 21 fights and 21 knockout wins. With plenty to choose from, the Texan has now opened up on his favourite stoppage of the bunch.
Ortiz Jr began his career as a super-lightweight in 2016 but moved up to welterweight after three years due to difficulties making the 140lb limit, continuing his impressive knockout streak despite the move up. Still, even at 147lbs, Ortiz has struggled with weight cuts, but that didn’t stop him recording knockout victories over the likes of Maurice Hooker, Egidijus Kavaliauskas and Michael McKinson – building a name for himself and fast-becoming recognised as a world title threat.
Earlier this year, Ortiz moved up once again and is hopeful that 154lbs is where he will finally settle and challenge for world honours and his super-welterweight debut could not have gone any better, knocking out Fredrick Lawson in the first-round of his headline event in Las Vegas.
Ortiz returned just three months later and repeated his success with yet another first-round knockout victory, this time halting former super-lightweight title challenger Thomas Dulorme in his tracks. In an interview with DAZN, Ortiz labelled that knockout as the favourite of his career thus far.
“I just found a body shot, for me it felt like a lifetime but in the video, it looked like half a second. I took it, pressed his button and that was it. I knew it was over before he hit the ground.”
Terence Crawford’s move up to the division has brought further eyes to the super-welterweight scene and Turki Al-Alshikh’s u-turn on a possible showdown betwen Canelo Alvarez and ‘Bud’ has left Ortiz in an ideal position. Al-Alshikh had previously labelled Ortiz as his ‘Plan B’ for Crawford and it is expected that he could get a crack at the arguable pound-for-pound number one if he comes through his next outing unscathed.
However, that may be easier said than done. Ortiz has been tasked with fellow knockout-artist and current WBC interim title-holder Serhii Bohachuk (24-1, 23KOs), who comfortably outpointed Brian Mendoza earlier in the calendar.
It is expected that Bohachuk will provide Ortiz Jr with the toughest test of his career and likely meet him in the centre of the ring but the 26-year-old remained unphased, labelling the contest as his ‘breakthrough fight’ and the beginning of his super-welterweight takeover.
“Don’t miss my next fight, August 10th. This is going to be my breakout fight and the start of my takeover at 154lbs.”
Should the possible encounter fail to manufacture, Ortiz Jr would still remain as WBC interim champion if he can overcome Bohachuk and would likely challenge for a world title in his next bout regardless. At present, Sebastian Fundora holds the full WBC crown, although he is expected to attempt a first defence of the belt against Errol Spence Jr. before the end of the year.
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