Vergil Ortiz Jr. weighed in at 156 lbs, and his opponent Fredrick Lawson came in at 152.4 lbs for Friday’s weigh-in today their twelve round main event this Saturday, January 6th, in Las Vegas,, live on DAZN.
What was surprising was Ortiz Jr. (19-0, 19 KOs) weighing in over the 154-lb limit, as it was believed the fight was supposed to have been his debut at junior middleweight.
For Vergil Jr. to be coming in as a middleweight and still looking badly drained was a bit of a shock. Two over the limit and still looking like he’d been couped up at Andersonville for months.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. looks drained at 156
Obviously, it’s not a good sign that Ortiz Jr. still looked drained at 156, as he’d moved up from 147 due to his weight woes, but for him to be looking emaciated nine pounds heavier, it could mean that he needs to move up to 160 or preferably at 168.
It seems clear that 154 isn’t going to be a good fit for Vergil Jr, and he may need to move up to middleweight and hope for the best. Some would argue that the reason for Vergil’s past success at welterweight was his huge size after rehydrating.
If Ortiz Jr can’t have the same size advantage at 154 or 160, can he dominate like he’d been doing at 147?
Undercard weights:
- Arnold Barboza Jr. 139.4 vs. Xolisani Ndongeni 139.2
- Ismael Barroso 139.6 vs. Ohara Davies 140
“You take a look at his record of 19-0 with 19 knockouts against great opposition. He’s been out of the ring for a bit,” said Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya to DAZN Boxing, talking about Vergil Ortiz Jr.
“I can feel the energy in him. I can feel him being anxious and getting back in the ring, showing people who he is and reminding people what Vergil Ortiz is all about. That’s why tomorrow is going to be good.
“His opponent is not a walk in the park, let me tell you. You can never question his work ethic. Vergil Ortiz and Senior they have a tremendous team, now with Robert Garcia in his corner. The sky’s the limit.
Can Ortiz Jr. get back to where he was?
“I feel that Vergil Ortiz is a powerhouse, and at 154, he’s coming after everybody. Whatever fights that any other promoter is willing to make. I want to make the best fights happen. We’ll see on Saturday night. Tomorrow night is going to be a walk in the park. Every fight is going to be exciting, and then we’ll take it from there.
“2024, it starts today. This is where it starts. By the end of 2024, I want to make sure that boxing keeps thriving, gets the best fights, and makes sure that all the promoters work with each other.
“Every fighter out there, let’s fight hard. We chose this sport, and let’s give it our all,” said De La Hoya.
“I’m excited. I’m ready to throw down and show the fans what they’ve been missing out on for two years,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr. “Never settle for less. You can always do better, and I’m always proud of myself and my team. I’m just happy.”
“He can get it back. It starts with Fredrick Lawson, and then hopefully step him up to a higher level of opponent, and then we can see the Vergil Ortiz, a superstar in the making like four years ago that has done nothing since except have unfortunate physical issues,” said Dan Rafael to Chris Mannix on Boxing.
“Yeah, I think he can get it back. He’s going to be fine at 154 lbs. He’s a tall kid 5’10”, 5’11”, so filling out that frame, I don’t think is going to be a big problem,” said Mannix about Ortiz Jr. I would like to see him spend 2024 just focused on activity.”
