Vergil Ortiz Jr. Set To Return On January 6th After His Health Scare
In some boxing news, Vergil Ortiz Jr. is reportedly set to return to the boxing ring on January 6th, 2023, at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas, against Fredrick Lawson.
The bout is set to take place at junior middleweight, following Ortiz’s clear struggles with making 147. Despite being undefeated with a record of 19 wins, with 19 by way of knockout, the American pulled out of his last fight with serious health concerns.
He had been on course to face Eimantas Stanionis on July 8th, 2023, only to pull out before the pre-fight presser. Reports indicated that he had been taken to hospital after fainting.
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
Thereafter, Golden Boy Promotions came out with a statement in the hope that Ortiz would make a full recovery.
“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 stated
Therefore, the return is vital since Ortiz’s last fight was in 2022 when he stopped Michael McKinson in the ninth round. But this time around, there will be question marks over whether Ortiz can compete at 154. However, Oscar De La Hoya did back the fighter to come back better.
“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
And by the looks of it, Ortiz has plenty of people interested in facing him. Giovani Santillan recently confirmed that he had his eyes on the undefeated fighter. And since Santillan is also undefeated, there would be enough of a narrative to make it happen.
Despite having an undefeated record of 32 wins, with 17 by way of knockout, Santillan ultimately fights at welterweight. Therefore, the only way for the bout to get made would be for Santillan to either move up to 154 or for Ortiz to move down to 147.
But since Ortiz has had issues at welterweight when it comes to the weight, that is unlikely to happen. And yet, that did not prevent Santillan from calling him out.
“If he stays at 147, let’s do it. I would love that fight. That’s another fight that would be exciting for everybody. The reason I joined this sport is to fight the best fighters,” Santillan
So, moving forward, there are plenty of reasons to keep an eye on Ortiz. Find all the latest boxing news and MMA breaking updates on boxingblitz.
