Blair Cobbs Set To Face Legal Action From Vergil Ortiz Jr.
American professional boxer Blair Cobbs hasn’t held back in terms of calling Vergil Ortiz Jr. a dirty fighter.
The 33-year-old now faces the scenario of taking back those accusations to avoid further legal action. Multiple boxing outlets confirm that a cease-and-desist letter was issued to Cobbs, involving his statement about Ortiz using steroids.
This development comes on the back of the welterweight’s recent claims against Ortiz. Last year in March, the 24-year-old fell ill and withdrew from the main event, featuring Cobbs in another fight.
“This firm represents… Vergil Ortiz, Jr. We write in response to your recent defamatory statements and publications on social media concerning Mr. Ortiz,” Jose Escovedo, the attorney representing Ortiz, wrote to Cobbs through Golden Boy Promotions via legal letter.
“Without any factual basis and with full knowledge of the rigorous performance enhancing drug (“PED”) testing that professional boxers like you and Mr. Ortiz are subjected to, you’ve made numerous statements claiming that Mr. Ortiz is “using steroids” and is “dirty.”
“You’ve even gone so far as to say that you would bet $100,000 that Mr. Ortiz is dirty. Associating Mr. Ortiz’s unfortunate medical condition with steroid use is egregious misconduct, and while trash talk is a part of boxing, defamation is not. Accordingly, we write to demand that you immediately cease and desist from making any additional comments of this nature about Mr. Ortiz.”
According to the reports by BoxingScene.com, Cobbs has time until January 30 to withdraw the claims. Otherwise, Ortiz and his team will consider damages in excess of $100,000 with legal costs incurred by all parties.