| Vergil Ortiz Jr. | |
| Birth Date: | March 25, 1998 |
| Birth Place: | Grand Prairie, Texas, U.S. |
| Weight: | |
| Height: | 5 ft 11 in[1] |
| Reach: | 74 in |
| Style: | Orthodox |
| Total: | 22 |
| Wins: | 22 |
| Ko: | 21 |
As an amateur, he was a seven-time national champion and was the winner at the 2013 Junior Olympics.[2] He was named 2019 The Ring magazine Prospect of the Year.[3] Ortiz is known for his exceptional punching power, having scored all but one of his wins by knockout.[4]
Ortiz was victorious in his first six fights, winning all six by stoppage and only going past the first round in one of the six fights.
His seventh bout came on September 16, 2017, on the undercard of Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin I against Cesar Valenzuela, which he won by second-round technical knockout.[5]
After improving to 11-0, Ortiz appeared a year later on the undercard of Canelo Álvarez vs. Gennady Golovkin II to face Roberto Ortiz. Vergil Ortiz knocked down his opponent with a right hand early in the second round. Roberto got up, but he was still hurt. Vergil attacked him immediately and knocked him down again with a right hand that sent his opponent to one knee. Roberto Ortiz reached his feet again, but the referee deemed him unfit to continue, calling off the fight.[6]
Ortiz, who now had an unblemished record of 13-0, defeated Antonio Orozco by sixth-round technical knockout to win the vacant WBA Gold welterweight title on August 10, 2019, at The Theatre at Grand Prairie, Texas.[7] He defended the title in his next fight against Brad Solomon on December 13, 2019, in Indio, California, winning by fifth-round knockout.[8]
Ortiz was originally scheduled to face Samuel Vargas on March 28, 2020, at The Forum, Inglewood, California on the undercard of Canelo Álvarez vs. Billy Joe Saunders.[9] However, following the postponement of the fight between Álvarez and Saunders due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the fight took place on July 24, 2020, at the same venue as Ortiz's previous fight against Brad Solomon.[10] Ortiz won the fight by seventh-round technical knockout and retained his WBA Gold welterweight title.[11]
Ortiz returned to the ring on March 20, 2021, beating Maurice Hooker with another seventh-round technical knockout in Fort Worth, Texas to win the vacant WBO International welterweight title.[12] Hooker was ranked #8 by the WBO, #13 by the WBC and #15 by the IBF at welterweight.[13]
On August 14, 2021, Ortiz defended the title against Egidijus Kavaliauskas. Kavaliauskas was ranked #5 by the WBO and #10 by the WBC at welterweight.[14] Kavaliauskas, who became Ortiz's first opponent to last longer than seven rounds, suffered five knockdowns as Ortiz won by eighth-round technical knockout.[15]
On August 6, 2022, Ortiz Jr fought Michael McKinson in an eliminator for the WBA world welterweight title. McKinson was ranked #5 by the WBO and #10 by the WBA at welterweight. Ortiz Jr beat McKinson by technical knockout in the 9th round.[16]
On April 27, 2024 in Fresno, CA, Ortiz Jr was scheduled to face Thomas Dulorme.[17] He won the fight by knockout with liver shot in the first round.[18]
Ortiz Jr was scheduled to face Tim Tszyu on August 3, 2024 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.[19] On May 30, 2024 it was announced that the fight was canceled with medical advice.[20] Tszyu required more time to heal from the injury sustained in his previous bout against Sebastian Fundora in March.[21]
On June 24, 2024 it was announced that Ortiz Jr would face Serhii Bohachuk in Las Vegas on August 10, 2024.[22] [23] Ortiz was knocked down twice in the bout, but went on to win via majority decision (114–112, 114–112, 113–113) after twelve competitive rounds;[24] this being the first time Ortiz had gone the full distance in a fight.
| Result | Record | Opponent | Type | Round, time | Date | Location | Notes | ||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 22 | Win | 22–0 | Serhii Bohachuk | 12 | Aug 10, 2024 | ||||
| 21 | Win | 21–0 | Thomas Dulorme | KO | 1 (12), | Apr 27, 2024 | |||
| 20 | Win | 20–0 | Fredrick Lawson | TKO | 1 (12), | Jan 6, 2024 | |||
| 19 | Win | 19–0 | Michael McKinson | TKO | 9 (12), | Aug 6, 2022 | |||
| 18 | Win | 18–0 | Egidijus Kavaliauskas | TKO | 8 (12), | Aug 14, 2021 | |||
| 17 | Win | 17–0 | Maurice Hooker | TKO | 7 (12), | Mar 20, 2021 | |||
| 16 | Win | 16–0 | Samuel Vargas | TKO | 7 (12), | Jul 24, 2020 | |||
| 15 | Win | 15–0 | Brad Solomon | KO | 5 (12), | Dec 13, 2019 | |||
| 14 | Win | 14–0 | Antonio Orozco | KO | 6 (12), | Aug 10, 2019 | |||
| 13 | Win | 13–0 | Mauricio Herrera | KO | 3 (10), | May 4, 2019 | |||
| 12 | Win | 12–0 | Jesus A Valdez Barrayan | 5 (10), | Jan 26, 2019 | ||||
| 11 | Win | 11–0 | Roberto Ortiz | TKO | 2 (10), | Sep 15, 2018 | |||
| 10 | Win | 10–0 | Juan Carlos Salgado | KO | 3 (10), | Jun 23, 2018 | |||
| 9 | Win | 9–0 | Jesus Alvarez Rodriguez | TKO | 3 (8), | Feb 22, 2018 | |||
| 8 | Win | 8–0 | Evandro Cavalheiro | TKO | 1 (8), | Nov 16, 2017 | |||
| 7 | Win | 7–0 | Cesar Valenzuela | TKO | 2 (6), | Sep 16, 2017 | |||
| 6 | Win | 6–0 | Ricardo Alan Fernandez | TKO | 1 (6), | Jun 17, 2017 | |||
| 5 | Win | 5–0 | Angel Sarinana | 3 (4), | May 5, 2017 | ||||
| 4 | Win | 4–0 | Israel Villela | KO | 1 (4), | Jan 28, 2017 | |||
| 3 | Win | 3–0 | Nestor Garcia | KO | 1 (4), | Dec 16, 2016 | |||
| 2 | Win | 2–0 | Ernesto Hernandez | KO | 1 (4), | Sep 17, 2016 | |||
| 1 | Win | 1–0 | Julio Rodas | 1 (4), | Jul 30, 2016 |
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