Erickson Lubin says WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis are looking past him for his fight this Saturday, November 8th.
Lubin’s Warning Shot
Erickson (27-3, 19 KOs) is challenging Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) for his interim belt at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. He says he’s going to “mess up those plans” for an Ortiz Jr. vs. Ennis fight next.
Many fans view this fight as a mismatch in favor of the 27-year-old Ortiz Jr. He’s fighting at a high level right now, and he looks hard to beat by anyone other than Jaron Ennis. However, Lubin is catching Vergil Jr. at the perfect time, with him coming off back-to-back tough battles against Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bochuk. He came close to losing both of those fights.
Vergil Jr. vs. Erickson will be headlining this Saturday on DAZN. The event starts at 8:00 pm ET / 5:00 pm PT.
Looking Past ‘The Hammer’
“With Vergil Ortiz and ‘Boots,’ they’re looking past me. They’re looking to create fantasy matches way before like anything like this happens,” said Erickson Lubin to Brian Custer’s channel on YouTube about Vergil Ortiz Jr. looking past their fight this Saturday.
Saturday’s Main card on DAZN
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Erickson Lubin
- Darius Fulghum vs. David Stevens
- Amari Jones vs. Shady Gamhour
- Joshua Edwards vs. Zeno Vooris
- Robin Safar vs. Derick Miller Jr.
Vergil Jr. hasn’t been talking up a fight with Ennis since he signed for his fight against Lubin. He’s stayed focused on this fight rather than looking ahead, and the same with his promoters at Golden Boy. Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is the one who has been letting the media know that he wants to face Ortiz Jr. next.
Biggest Test Yet for Vergil
“This is a big fight right here. This is Vergil Ortiz’s biggest fight, biggest test, and this is one of my biggest fights,” said Lubin. “I fought the cream of the crop of the division. I fought the Fundoras. I fought [Jermell] Charlo. I fought Ramos. Me fighting a guy like Vergil Ortiz, I’m highly prepared.”
Erickson fails to point out that he lost those fights by knockout against Jermell Charlo and Sebastian Fundora. They were a while ago, and he’s improved. Lubin was only 22 when Jermell knocked him out in the first round on October 14, 2017. Since that fight, Erickson has won nine of ten fights. ‘The Hammer’ Lubin has won his last three fights since being stopped in the ninth round by Fundora on April 9, 2022.
It’s debatable whether this is Ortiz Jr’s “biggest fight” of his career, because his last two bouts against Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk were equally important. The difference is the Jaron Ennis fight that is hanging over Vergil Jr’s head. Financially, that’s the biggest one of his career.
Messing Up the Master Plan
“I’m extremely prepared for this fight, and I’m looking to mess up all those plans,” said Lubin.
It’s got to be annoying for Erickson to hear so much talk from the media, fans, and promoter Eddie Hearn about a fight between Ortiz Jr. and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis potentially happening next. Hearn and Ennis will be ringside on Saturday night, visible to fans, to create pressure on Vergil Jr. to make the fight next.