A Confident Vergil Ortiz Jr. Ready To Take Over The Boxing World
As a result of Ryan Garcia’s back and forth relationship with Golden Boy and DAZN, Vergil Ortiz Jr. will be stepping up to the plate. The 22-year-old will look to take advantage of the position he is in, especially if it involves future opportunities.
Ortiz (15-0) will main event Golden Boy’s return to action from inside the Fantasy Springs Casino Resort in Indio, California on July 24. He will face off against Samuel Vargas, a match month’s in the making. The two were set to fight in March, but the coronavirus halted those plans.
“I’m very honored to be the first fighter to headline the return of Golden Boy and DAZN,” Ortiz stated to The Ring, “but to be honest with you, I feel like it was supposed to happen anyways. I’m very excited to be the first.”
A seven-time national amateur champion, Ortiz made his professional debut in 2016 and has won all fifteen of his wins via some form of knockout. The 22-year-old last fought in December, beating Brad Solomon via TKO.
A WBA-NABA Welterweight Champion, Vargas (31-5-2) has faced some of the best in boxing today. While he has lost to Errol Spence Jr., Danny Garcia, and Amir Khan, Vargas has managed to impress each time out. Vargas is coming off of a unanimous decision win over Silverio Ortiz back in June 2019. Even with these credentials, Ortiz believes he should not be overlooked.
“I feel like people don’t give me the credit that I deserve,” Ortiz went on to say. “They see some 22-year-old who hasn’t faced a tough test yet. I understand there’s more risk than reward for some of these guys to face me but we’re fighters.
“If we’re not fighting the best, then what do we have to stand for? I know that I’m ready to face the best and, one way or another, I’m going to make them fight me. I know that it may take a while but I’m ready.”
Ortiz is considered one of Golden Boy’s pet projects. A win could help cement his status as one of the best young fighters out there today. While Oscar De La Hoya is closely transitioning his fighters to huge stars, Ortiz does believe his time is coming.
In order to test him, De La Hoya will have to put the WBA Gold Welterweight Champion in tough spots. Vargas is the first major step. If he were to beat him, Ortiz has his eyes set on WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford. Once calling him the most technically-skilled fighter today, Ortiz believes that a fight with “Bud” would help against critics of both him and Crawford.
“I want to fight Crawford,” Ortiz stated. “He’s a very skilled fighter, arguably among the top five pound-for-pound fighters in the world today, and very smart. I’m very open to fighting him. That’s probably the easiest fight to make in boxing right now.
“I’m ready to take any opportunity thrown my way. I understand how hard it is to make big fights these days so if I received an offer to face Crawford, I would take it.”
Crawford (36-0) does not have a planned return fight yet. He last fought in December, beating Egidijus Kavaliauskas via TKO. Crawford is interested in fighting Spence or Manny Pacquiao, but would only do so for the right purse.