Vergil Ortiz Jr. Withdraws From His Fight With Eimantas Stanionis As The Boxer Is Hospitalized

Vergil Ortiz Jr. has withdrawn from his fight with Eimantas Stanionis on July 8th, 2023, just before the two fighters were scheduled to have their pre-fight presser. 

Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) was putting his WBA ‘Regular’ welterweight belt on the line in what would have been the first defence of his title.

Meanwhile, Ortiz Jr. was looking to stay active following his last fight in 2022 which was a win over Michael McKinson.

The card, however, will still go ahead, as Floyd Schofield vs. Haskell Rhodes will headline the event after being upgraded from the co-main event.

Looks like Virgil ortiz jr has pulled out of his fight this weekend for the 3rd time.

— BIGJ (@_Jaythanm) July 6, 2023

And yet, the news has been a major setback given that the bout had been in the making for quite a while. 

The fight was originally set to take place on March 18th, 2023. However, Stanionis had to withdraw due to an emergency appendectomy.

Subsequently, the bout was rescheduled for April 29th, 2023. Unfortunately, Ortiz Jr. was unable to participate due to rhabdomyolysis.

And this time around it appears that Ortiz Jr. had fainted which required him to be hospitalized.

Stanionis manager Shelly Finkel tells me he was informed earlier today by Eric Gomez of Golden Boy that Vergil Ortiz had fainted, was hospitalized & that their fight Saturday is off. Third this fight hasn't gone through. Hope Vergil is OK. #boxing #StanionisOrtiz

— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) July 6, 2023

In response, Golden Boy Promotions had this to say.

“Nothing is more important than the safety of our fighters, and we of course support Vergil’s decision 100 percent.

“This unfortunate event does however open the door for one of Golden Boy’s top prospects, Floyd Schofield, to accelerate his profile by headlining in his home state of Texas.

“We will, as always, put on a high-action card from top to bottom on July 8 and look forward to showcasing all of our fighters both in San Antonio and on DAZN,” Golden Boy Promotions