Could Vergil Ortiz Jr Be Crawford’s Biggest Threat To Super-Welterweight Dominance?
Vergil Ortiz Jr will aim to take a big step towards a super-welterweight world title shot on Saturday when he fights Serhii Bohachuk for the WBC’s interim belt.
Ortiz (21-0-0 21 KO) and Bohachuk (24-1-0 23 KO) will headline this weekend’s show at Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, with the winner putting themselves in prime position to challenge for the WBC’s 154lbs world title.
The super-welterweight division welcomed a new champion last weekend in Los Angeles when pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford scaled to the top of the WBA standings by beating Ismail Madrimov on points and taking his title. A weight class that had arguably lacked a world-class champion now has the best fighter in the game.
A survey of the other champions would give every reason to believe that Crawford, already the first male fighter of the four-belt era to become undisputed in two divisions, could go on and repeat the feat in a third.
With all respect to Sebastian Fundora, who holds the WBO and WBC titles, and IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev, neither fighter should pose many problems for Crawford, despite the evidence from his win over Madrimov that his power isn’t quite as effective at 154lbs.
What has still carried to super-welterweight is Crawford’s skill, speed, and ring craft – all of which should lead him to victory over his fellow champions if those fights were to occur.
Ortiz On The Rise
Instead, perhaps Crawford’s biggest threat lurks among the leading contenders. Ortiz is one of American boxing’s biggest talents and has knocked out all 21 opponents. Having turned professional at light-welterweight in 2016 – after a stellar amateur career that included seven national titles – the Texan has made a seamless climb up the weight classes, and taken his power with him.
Ortiz held minor titles at welterweight – the WBA gold and WBA international – but saw his rise stalled by 17 months of inactivity. After stopping Michael McKinson in August 2022, Ortiz engaged in negotiations with current WBA welterweight titlist Eimantas Stanionis but talks collapsed on three occasions.
The American returned to the ring in January and has shown few signs of rust this year, stopping Fredrick Lawson in the first round of his last fight at welterweight, before climbing to middleweight in April to pummel Thomas Dulorme, also in the opening round.
Ortiz was due to face former super-welterweight world champion Tim Tszyu on Crawford’s undercard last week, but the Australian’s facial injuries sustained in his world title defeat to Fundora hadn’t recovered in time.
While Tszyu is a bigger name than Bohachuk, the Ukrainian brings with him the bonus of the WBC interim title, teeing up the winner for a shot at the victor of Fundora’s expected November bout against former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr.
This is therefore a pivotal time in Ortiz’s career, and should he navigate his way through the minefield and emerge as the WBC champion, he could position himself as Crawford’s biggest obstacle to holding all four 154lbs belts.
Bohachuk Test Awaits
While that is a tantalizing prospect, there is first a tough task against Bohachuk on Saturday. In his third bout at super-welterweight, Ortiz will meet in the ring a fellow power puncher and experienced 154lb-er who has toppled all except two opponents.
Ortiz starts the fight as the favorite, but the threat of a knockout will be there from the start and if it descends into an all-out brawl, the winner may well be who lands the first cleanest flurry. The two fighters also know each other well having contested nearly 50 rounds of sparring.
“I think it will be something like [a war],” Ortiz, 26, said. “Our fighting styles complement each other, for sure. It’s going to be a good one. We’re pretty familiar with each other.”
Ortiz’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, is famed for his hyperbole to the extent his grand statements are often taken with a pinch of salt. But he was also a six-weight world champion and Hall of Fame fighter, so his impression of Ortiz certainly carries weight.
“Vergil is extra-special,” De La Hoya said. “From the moment we saw him as an amateur, we knew we had a generational talent. He has a killer instinct and incredible power. If he hurts you and smells blood, he’s going to finish you, and that’s something special. That’s the bottom line, and I love that.”
The sky appears to be the limit for Ortiz, and Crawford will surely be keeping an eye on the developments in the WBC battle. Before all that, though, is Bohachuk on Saturday.
