Oscar De La Hoya has revealed that Vergil Ortiz Jr. will move up to junior middleweight after the star fainted and was taken to hospital before his upcoming bout with Eimantas Stanionis on July 8th, 2023.
According to reports, Ortiz Jr. fainted as he was trying to make the welterweight limit of 147 lbs. As such, Ortiz Jr. pulled out of the fight.
The news was a huge blow since it was the third time that the fight had been called off. The scheduled fight was initially planned for March 18th, 2023.
However, Stanionis had to withdraw because of an emergency appendectomy. Thereafter, the bout was rescheduled for April 29th, 2023. But Ortiz Jr. was unable to take part due to rhabdomyolysis.
While the Floyd Schofield vs. Haskell Rhodes fight will headline the event, De La Hoya ressaured fans that Ortiz Jr. would bounce back at 154 lbs.
“Look, he’s a big kid, so I think 154 would be ideal. Virgil Ortiz was going to fight for the world title, and he was in line to challenge Errol Spence; he was in line to challenge Crawford, the winner of that fight,”
“Everything was great to the last second, everything was great, he looked amazing. Stitch, his cut man, was saying, ‘Man, Vergil Ortiz looks better than ever.’
“It’s unfortunate, but like I said, his health is first and then we’ll take it from there,” Oscar De La Hoya said
Boots Wishes Ortiz Jr. Well
Much in the same way, Jaron Ennis reacted to the news by stating that Ortiz Jr. should focus on himself rather than worrying about fighting.
Ennis and Ortiz Jr. were meant to fight on the same night. Ennis faces Roiman Villa for the IBF interim welterweight title, while Ortiz was targeting the WBA ‘regular’ welterweight title.
Both fights would have put the victor in a great place to face the winner of Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford.
But rather than focusing on the opportunity that was lost, Ennis advised Ortiz Jr. to focus on his health.
“I feel like he should just focus on himself and get himself healthy and then worry about fighting again,” Ennis