In a controversial stoppage, Vergil Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) stopped Fredrick Lawson (30-4, 22 KOs) by a first round knockout on Saturday night at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
It looked like another bad stoppage from referee Tony Weeks, who jumped in way too soon in the same way he’d done in some other fights he’s worked.
Ortiz, fighting at middleweight, hurt Lawson with a jab that caused him to back up against the ropes. Vergil, 25, then unloaded with a flurry of shots that caused the referee, Tony Weeks, to step in and stop the fight, albeit prematurely. The time of the stoppage was at 2:33 of round one.
After the fight, Vergil called out WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu, saying he wanted him next.
Tony Weeks worked the Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero vs. Ismael Barroso fight last year and prematurely stopped that one. He also worked the Andre Ward vs. Sergey Kovalev rematch and stopped that fight after what appeared to be three consecutive low blows from Ward.
B24 will be giving live boxing updates & results below of tonight’s card on DAZN, which begins at 8 pm. ET.
- Ismael Barroso (25-4-2, 23 KOs) obliterated newly signed Golden Boy fighter Ohara Davies (25-3, 18 KOs), dropping him twice in scoring a first round knockout to claim the WBA interim light welterweight title. The hard-hitting 40-year-old Barroso took advantage of Ohara throwing a slow right hand, which he countered with a left to the head that stunned him. Davies staggered backward to the ropes, and Barroso dropped him like a bad habit with a crushing left to the head. Moments later, Davies knocked Davies down for a second time after connecting with four unanswered head shots, causing him to collapse in a heap. Davies got back up, but referee Celestino Ruiz stopped it after checking him out, and nothing that he was clear-eyed. Davies tried to protest after to referee right away but staggered while walking forward, making it clear that he’d made the right decision. The time of the stoppage was at 1:53 of round one. After the fight, Barroso said that he wants to fight WBA light welterweight champion Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero next. Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya, reacting to Ryan Garcia saying he wants Rolly next, said tonight that Ohara would be the next opponent for Rolly. However, those plans went down the drain after this loss. If De La Hoya is going to refuse Ryan’s wish to fight Rolly, he’ll need to come up with another explanation.
- In his first fight for Golden Boy Promotions, #1 WBO light welterweight contender Arnold Barboza Jr. (29-0, 11 KOs) stopped tough veteran Xolisani Ndongeni (31-4, 18 KOs) in the eighth round. Referee Raul Caiz Jr. halted the fight at the end of the eighth round. According to DAZN, Caiz Jr. didn’t like the body language of Ndongeni, who had been hurt late in the eighth from a series of hard headshots from Barboza Jr. The time of the stoppage was at 3:00 of round eight.
- Unbeaten Raul Curiel (14-0, 12 KOs) defeated Elias Diaz (12-2, 7 KOs) by an eighth round knockout. Curiel dropped Diaz in the fifth round with a hard right hand. Diaz’s left was in bad shape from the fifth round. In the eighth, the contest was halted.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. headlines tonight in a catchweight fight at middleweight for his debut at 154 against Fredrick Lawson in a twelve-round affair in Las Vegas.
Tonight’s card is loaded with Arnold Barboza Jr, Ismael Barroso, Raul Curriel, and Ohara Davies seeing action.
Main Card at 8:00 p.m. ET live on DAZN
– Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Fredrick Lawson
– Ohara Davies vs. Ismael Barroso
– Arnold Barboza Jr. vs. Xolisani Ndongeni
– Raul Curiel vs. Elias Diaz
Vergil Ortiz Jr. choosing catchweight at 156 for debut at junior middleweight
“You want to get ranked in the division that you want to fight in. So, if Vergil Ortiz starts to call all his fights at middleweight, then he’s going to get ranked in the middleweight in the middleweight division,” said Paulie Malignaggi to ProBox TV reacting to Vergil Ortiz Jr. fighting at a catchweight of 156 lbs in what was supposed to have been his debut at 154 [junior middleweight] tonight against Fredrick Lawson.
“So, you try to justify it by calling it a catchweight, and so you’re letting the sanctioning bodies know that you intend on being ranked in the weight class that you intend on campaigning at, which means if you intend on fighting for a world title or any kind of title that you want to, you would be forced to fight at the proper weight,” said Malignaiggi.
“Robert Garcia told me that Vergil is a big guy, and he spars with super middleweights and light heavyweights because he’s that much of a beast,” said Chris Algieri about Vergil Ortiz Jr.
“I do believe he’s going to campaign at 154, and I expect for him to win a world title there. 160 is right around the corner, and eventually 168. He is young and still growing, but we’ll see. That’s many moons ahead.”
Vergil Jr. may need to move up to 160 and 168 a lot sooner than Algieri thinks, as he’s already looking drained and needing to fight at a catchweight in the middleweight division at 156 for his debut at 154.
When you see a fighter using a catchweight to fight above his new weight class, that’s a sign that they’re not cut out for that division and need to move up even higher.
We all know that it was killing Vergil Ortiz Jr. to make 147, causing him medical problems to drain down to that weight. But what seems obvious now is moving to 154 isn’t his answer because he still looks horribly drained, and he’s NOT even fighting at that weight.
Is Ortiz Jr. gaming the system?
He’s using a catchweight, coming in at 156, yet wanting to be ranked at 154, in the junior middleweight division. In other words, Vergil Ortiz Jr. gaming the system.
If a fighter wants to get ranked in a division, they should be forced to fight in that weight class because it’s a joke to campaign above the weight and then only compete at the regulation weight when a world title is on the line.
“We’re all very excited at Vergil Ortiz’s return. He’s one of the best-rising stars in the sport today,” said Algieri about Vergil being one of the best at 147.
We don’t know if Ortiz Jr. will be effective against quality junior middleweights or if he’ll be able to hang if he’s forced to move up to 160, which is arguably where he should be tonight, given that he’s not fighting at 154.
Vergil Jr. was hurt by Egidijus Kavaliauskas and within an eyelash of being knocked out at welterweight in 2021. In Vergil’s last fight, he was getting his head boxed off by Michael McKinson.
If Ortiz Jr. is having problems with those fighters at 147, what’s going to happen to him when he gets in with a solid fighter at 154, like Tim Tszyu or Janibek Alimkhanuly at 160, which is where he should be fighting, given that he’s a middleweight for tonight’s fight against Lawson.