Brian McIntyre talks Vergil Ortiz vs. Hooker & Crawford

By Boxing News - 03/19/2021 - Comments

By Jeff Aronow: Trainer Brian ‘BoMac’ McIntyre says he’s glad Maurice ‘Mighty Mo’ Hooker is being viewed as the underdog by fans and the media for his fight on Saturday night against Vergil Ortiz Jr because he’s going to prove wrong when he beats him.

The highly hyped #2 WBO welterweight contender Ortiz (16-0, 16 KOs) will be bringing his perfect record into the fight against former WBO 140-lb champion Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KOs) tonight on DAZN at the Dickies Arena, in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hooker, 31, and Ortiz will have the vacant WBO International 147lb title that will be at stake. That’s less important than the possible title shot the winner of the fight could get against WBO champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford.

Ortiz wants to fight Crawford, but it’s unknown whether that’s a fight that Hooker wants. It’s likely that Hooker wouldn’t take the fight with Crawford because they’re friends, share the same gym and trainer.

BoMac: Ortiz will fail his test

“He’s got great motivation,” said BoMac to All Access Elite Boxing about Vergil Ortiz Jr taking on his fighter Maurice Hooker on Saturday night. “He’s got 16 wins and 16 knockouts.

Image: Brian McIntyre talks Vergil Ortiz vs. Hooker & Crawford

“He’s got great motivation. My hats off to his promoters for getting him to that point, but they put him in a real fight. They’re trying to see if he can pass that test because Mo is a test.

“They say they studied and did their homework, but I believe they’re going to fail. I already know he [Hooker] has that dog in him.

“He’s a great boxer with a lot of heart. There’s nothing new. We didn’t have to change anything and we didn’t have to add anything.

“We just picked up where we left off. We got us a win in the win column and then go on and take on this one,” said BoMac about Hooker.

Maurice is coming off an impressive first-round knockout win over Uriel Perez in a confidence-booster type of fight in December 2019. However, that opponent is nowhere near as good as Ortiz Jr, and that fight isn’t going to help him.

Hooker has the power to win tonight, but I’m so sure that his punch resistance is what it needs to be for him to hang around long enough to land his big bombs.

Ortiz wants Hooker to go to war with him, so if he comes out slugging in the way that BoMac seemingly wants him to, this fight might be over early.

Hooker’s recent fights:

  • Uriel Perez – TKO 1
  • Jose Ramirez – TKO 6 defeat
  • Mikkel LesPierre – UD 12
  • Alex Saucedo – TKO 7
  • Terry Flanagan – SD 12
  • Courtney Jackson UD 10

Hooker has some good wins in the last three years, especially his victory over previously unbeaten Saucedo.

With that said, most of those wins came three to four years ago when Hooker was in the zenith of his career. Hooker isn’t that same fighter anymore, as he’s aged and slipped a notch.

Unfortunately, Hooker will need the Fountain of Youth for him to beat the 22-year-old Ortiz tonight. Without that, he’s likely to be knocked within six rounds, which Ortiz predicts.

Hooker fine with being the underdog

“As Maurice [Hooker] said, he don’t mind being the underdog,” said McIntyre. “That’s all the pressure on Vergil. He’s got the pressure on him, which is good.

Image: Brian McIntyre talks Vergil Ortiz vs. Hooker & Crawford

“He’s got to perform, and he’s got to take chances. I think he’s got to push the button and he’s got to go, go, go, go.

“If things don’t go his way, then how is he going to react? As far as looking over Maurice and looking towards Terence, he’d better look at what’s in front of him first before he gets to something that is going to wreck his career,” said BoMac.

It would be in BoMac’s best interest to view Hooker’s underdog role to indicate that he’s facing someone younger and stronger than him.

McIntyre isn’t going to help Hooker if he puts up a front in front of the media, pretending that it’s a good thing that he’s an underdog.

There’s nothing good about Hooker being an underdog because it’s clear to almost everyone that he’s over his head in this fight with the 22-year-old Vergil.

McIntyre needs to make sure Hooker stays on the outside and uses his jab and reach to prevent Ortiz from landing his big power shots.

Above all, Hooker can’t afford to be a stationary target against Ortiz, seeing that he doesn’t have the chin to take punishment from the heavy-handed fighter.

Crawford beats Spence in a cakewalk

“Bud welcomes anybody that wants to fight him,” said BoMac to Fino Boxing. “The world wants to see that fight. The world wants to see Bud fight all the top welterweights.

“So if the fight materializes, it won’t be no problem for Bud to take care of business,” BoMac said about a fight between Crawford and Shawn Porter. ”

“I think it’s a way out of the fight,” said Brian when asked his thoughts on Spence saying that Crawford can get a 70-30 or 80-20 split.

“Spence really knows what he can do inside that fight. So when he makes demands like that, he’s looking for a way out.

“Of course, boxing fans want to see the best fight the best. As you see, Spence got a belt and Bud got a belt, and, of course, things are going to pull together.

“But I believe in my heart that it’s not going to be a fight that fans really want to see after Terence starts dominating after four or five rounds because it’s going to be a cakewalk,” said McIntyre.

The fight between Errol Spence Jr and Terence Crawford may never get to the point of it happening while the two are still in their primes. I

BF/WBC welterweight champion Spence (27-0, 21 KOs) is adamant that Crawford doesn’t deserve more than a 60-40 split, which he’ll likely never accept.

While Spence is still unbeaten and a world champion, he’s probably not going to give Crawford a 50-50 split or whatever he’s asking for.

If Crawford believes he rates a bigger split, the fight will never happen unless Spence’s career goes into a tailspin all of a sudden.