By Mark Eisner: Vergil Ortiz Jr (18-0, 18 KOs) stopped former world title challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas (22-2-1, 18 KOs) by an eighth-round knockout on Saturday night The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
Ortiz Jr was hurt in the second round but came back to drop down in the second and three more times in the eighth round to get the knockout.
- In a non-title fight, IBF light flyweight champion Felix Alvarado (37-2, 32 KOs) made easy work over substitute Israel Vazquez (10-5-2, 7 KOs) in winning a first round knockout. Alvarado knocked Vazquez down with a big right hand to the head. After a groggy-looking Vazquez got up, the referee opted to halt the fight rather than letting Alvarado drop him again. The time of the stoppage was at 2:50 of the first round.
- Undefeated welterweight prospect George Rincon (12-0, 7 KOs) defeated Nikolai Buzolin (8-4-1, 4 KOs) by an eight round unanimous decision. Boxing News 24 scored it 80-72. The 5’9″ Rincon used his height and reach to control his shorter opponent to get the better of the action. The judges scored it 80-72 x 3.
- Light welterweight prospect Alex Martin (17-3, 6 KOs) outboxed Josec Ruiz (23-5-3, 16 KOs) in winning a 10 round unanimous decision. The scores were 100-90, 100-90, 100-90. Martin did an excellent job of outboxing Ruiz, keeping him from landing any of his big haymaker shots.
Preview:
Fights on tonight’s undercard:
- Roger Gutierrez vs Rene Alvarado
- Pablo Cesar Cano vs. Danielito Zorrilla
Felix Alvarado vs. Israel Vazquez
Ortiz Jr (17-0, 17 KOs) is being groomed for greatness by his promoters at Golden Boy Promotions, and they’ve given him this final test against the two-time Olympian ‘Mean Machine’ Kavaliauskas tonight to see if he’s ready to progress to the next level against Crawford.
Vergil Jr being tested by Mean Machine
If the 23-year-old Vergil Jr struggles and/or loses to Kavaliauskas, Golden Boy will step him back a level to help fix the mistakes to rebuild him for a title shot.
Even if Ortiz Jr were to lose tonight, he’s got the power and the youth on his side to eventually dethrone Crawford, who will be turning 34 next month.
“He’s going to for the knockout, and I’m going to go for the knockout,” said Kavaliauskas to Xicana Boxing. “It’s going to be an explosive fight. It’s no pressure on me because my entire career, I’ve not been fighting in my territory. I’m from Europe, and all my fights have been in the United States in enemy territory,” continued Kavaliauskas.
For me, it’s nothing special. Maybe he didn’t respect the power of Maurice Hooker. He’s not a big puncher, and Vergil got hit a little more than he should, but this boxing.
“Boxers get hit in the fights; it’s not a big deal. He got the win, that’s it. There was one fight last year in September, but I always stay in the gym, and I’m always fighting these guys in the gym. Sparring is more like a fight.
Kavaliauskas sparring with middleweights
“I like to sometimes spar bigger guys because I can punch them harder than guys at 147, my weight class,” said ‘Mean Machine’ Kavaliauskas when asked why he likes to spar with 160-pounders sometimes.
“For me, they push me much harder to perform in the sparring. It’s always good when guys like Terence Crawford mention my name and boxers mention my name. It’s good for me. And it’s more publicity,” said Kavaliauskas when told that Crawford said that Vergil Jr must go through him to get a title shot against him.
“Terence Crawford and Vergil are two different styles of fighters, and Vergil is an old-school Mexican fighter. These are the fights that the fans want to see with that style. So that’s not in my head that [previously] fighting against Crawford gives me any kind of advantage.
“I’m not focusing on what round I’m going to try and take him out, but as I mentioned, we’re going to go for a knockout,” said Kavaliauskas.
Highly rated Vergil Ortiz Jr will be taking on his toughest career test tonight against the hard-hitting Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas on DAZN at 8:00 p.m. ET at The Ford Center at The Star in Frisco, Texas.
The winner of the fight will be in a strong position to challenge WBO 147-lb champion Terence Crawford, a fighter that ‘Mean Machine’ Kavaliauskas lost two in 2019 in a competitive match.
Boxing News 24 will be giving updates below on tonight’s fights for the Vergil Ortiz Jr vs. Egidijus Kavaliauskas card.