WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. he will face a much different test in his title defense against the technically skilled Israil Madrimov on February 22 in Riyadh. The fight will take place in 58 days.
The powerful 26-year-old Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KO) defeated the power puncher Serhij Bohachuk by a questionable 12-round majority decision in his last fight on August 10. Bohachuk dropped Ortiz Jr twice in the fight.
Vergil Jr. was outmatched by the stronger Bohachuk throughout the fight, but took a controversial decision by sitting on his bike in the final four rounds to take the win.
Ortiz Jr. he didn't decide to give Bohachuk a rematch to clear up the controversy, which is understandable considering how much punishment he took in that fight. Bohachuk beat Vergil at his own game, outscoring him and forcing him to move in the final quarter of the contest.
Vergil Jr.'s shot statistics. against Bohachuk
– Ortiz Jr: 265 of 732 shots for 43%
– Bohačuk: 225 out of 817 for 36%
Ortiz Jr. wilted under the power of Bohachuk, suffered a lot of facial damage, was injured in the later rounds and was timed out for glove repairs. It seems he used it to recover.
It will be a different type of fight against Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs), who is faster, more technical and just as powerful as Bohachuk with his right hand. Vergil Jr's best chance of winning this fight is under pressure because he doesn't have the skills Madrimov has going for him.
Former WBA junior middleweight champion Madrimov will likely be more aggressive than he was in his loss to Terence Crawford, but he won't use the pressure that Bohachuk used. That's not his style. However, Madrimov has the power and timing to hurt Ortiz Jr. if he tries to cheat him as he has done with most of his opponents in his eight-year professional career.
Grudge Match
Vergil Jr. and Madrimov have different views on how their sparring has gone in the past. In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Madrimov, 29, said he wasn't “100%” during the sparring and said Vergil Jr. is just a “normal” boxer.
Ortiz Jr. said Fight Hub TV on Madrimov's comments, “He said, 'He's a normal boxer, and we just went to play with him.' To me, that's throwing shade.”
Madrimov: »Actually, there is nothing to say. We had a good sparring match. He is athletically built, he is fast. I was helping him prepare for the fight at the time. We exchanged experiences. I don't know what else to tell you
Former amateur star Madrimov lost a narrow 12-round unanimous decision to Terence Crawford in his last fight on August 3rd in Los Angeles. The score was 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113.
Many boxing fans felt afterwards that Madrimov was close to defeating Crawford and would have won if he had stepped up his performance in the championship rounds. He made Crawford (37) look his age in that fight.
