Vergil Ortiz Jr. (19-0, 19 KOs) is coming back from a long layoff in what he says is a “do-or-die’ fight against Fredrick Lawson (30-3, 22 KOs) at 154 this Saturday, January 6th, in a twelve round fight at The Theater at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas. The event will be shown on DAZN.
Ortiz, 25, has had health-related issues that have put him out of action since August of 2022, so he’s likely to have some ring rust. Before Vergil started having health problems, he was knocking out everyone in sight and was on course to challenge WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford for his belt.
Vergil’s last four victories:
– Michael McKinson
– Egidijus Kavaliauskas
– Maurice Hooker
– Samuel Vargas
In the chief support bout, light welterweight contenders Ismael Barroso (24-4-2, 22 KOs) and Ohara Davies (25-2, 18 KOs) will meet in a bout scheduled for twelve rounds.
Ortiz returns to old trainer
“I think it’s over with. I had Rabo for the first fight with McKinson third time, then with the Stanionis fight when it got canceled the second time, but I think it’s over with,” said Vervil Ortiz Jr. to 210BoxingTv.
“I felt like I needed to come back. This is where I felt I was at my best,” said Ortiz about returning to Robert Garcia’s gym. “It feels like I never left. It obviously does.
“We had a great camp. We’re closing out. Nothing changed at all. I don’t know much. I’ve seen some of his opponents. I know some of them,” said Ortiz Jr. about Fredrick Lawson. “I can gauge some of it. I’ve seen clips on YouTube. He’s a tough fighter. He’s there to fight.”
Hopefully, Ortiz Jr. knows what he’s going up against in taking on Lawson. It’s never a good idea to face opposition that you haven’t studied in the past, but in this case, Vergil should be okay because Lawson isn’t a big puncher.
“He’s smart as well, and he’s there to win. He has everything to win. He has nothing to lose,” said Ortiz Jr. “I’m not going in there, ‘This is just a comeback fight. This is a tune-up. I’m treating this fight like it means everything because it obviously does. This is my do-or-die.
“There’s a lot of competition. You’ve got Tim Tszyu. You’ve got [Jermell] Charlo. You’ve got Brian Mendoza,” said Vergil Jr. about some of the top fighters at 154. “God willing, I get through this fight healthy and with a win. I want to fight the best. I got to have a lot of respect for fighters at 154. I want to prove I’m up there as well.”
It’s going to be interesting to see Vergil take on some of those names at 154, as he’ll be facing guys with just as much power as him, if not more, and it won’t be easy to take their shots.
“Exactly. That fight can still happen,” said Vergil Jr. about Terence Crawford moving up to 154. Crawford is probably one of the top three active fighters now. Crawford is a great fighter. I don’t think he showed us anything different. He just solidified what we all thought he was.
“I always said that if it’s going to happen, it’s going to happen at 154,” said Ortiz Jr about a fight between him and Errol Spence Jr.
