Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Interim WBC junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. will face a much different test in his title defense against the technically skilled Israil Madrimov on February 22 in Riyadh. The battle will take place in 58 days.
Powerful 26-year-old Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) defeated the power puncher Sergey Bogachuk by a dubious 12-round majority in his last fight on August 10. Bohachuk dropped Ortiz Jr. twice in the battle.
Vergil Jr. was beaten by the more powerful Bohachuk during the fight, but pulled off a controversial decision, riding his bike for the final four rounds to earn the victory.
Ortiz Jr. didn't choose to give Bohachuk a rematch to settle the dispute, which is understandable considering how much punishment he took in that fight. Bohachuk beat Vergil at his own game, outplaying him and forcing him to move into the final quarter of the competition.
Vergil Jr. vs. Bohachuk Punch Stats
– Ortiz Jr.: 265 of 732 shots for 43%
– Bohachuk: 225 out of 817 for 36%
Ortiz Jr. wilted under Bohachuk's power, took a lot of damage to the face, was hurt in the later rounds and was given time to repair the gloves. He seems to be using this 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 a right hand. Vergil Jr's best chance to win this fight is with pressure because he doesn't have the skills that Madrimov has 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 to come forward that Bohachuk displayed. That's not his style. However, Madrimov has the power and timing to hurt Ortiz Jr. if he tries to push him away, as he has with most of his opponents in his eight-year pro career.
A grudge match
Virgil Jr. and Madrimov have different views on how their sparring matches have gone in the past. In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Madrimov, 29, said he wasn't “100%” during the sparring session and said Virgil Jr. was just a “normal” boxer.
Ortiz Jr. told the 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: “There's nothing really to say. We had a good sparring session. He's athletic, he's 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 12-round unanimous decision to Terence Crawford in his last fight on August 3 in Los Angeles. The scores were 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113.
Many boxing fans believed afterwards that Madrimov was close to beating Crawford and would have won if he had picked up the power in the championship rounds. He made the 37-year-old Crawford look his age in this fight.
