Vergil Ortiz analyzes Errol Spence vs. Danny Garcia

By Boxing News - 06/05/2020 - Comments

By Kenneth Friedman: Vergil Ortiz Jr. isn’t counting out Danny Garcia in a fight against IBF/WBC welterweight Errol Spence Jr. this year. The unbeaten Ortiz Jr (15-0, 15 KOs), who came from the same gym as Spence in Texas, believes that Garcia may get the better of him with his immense power.

Ortiz is still favoring Spence (26-0, 22 KOs) to defeat Garcia (36-2, 21 KOs), but he says he won’t be surprised if Danny wins. Like many people, Ortiz, 22, isn’t sure whether Spence will be the same fighter he once was after his car crash from last October.

He doesn’t know if Spence will be able to get back to the level he was at before the accident, and it could be a bad thing for him to take on Danny right now. However, it might not help Spence to delay the fight with the 32-year-old Garcia, considering that things may not change for the better in waiting.

Spence, 30, doesn’t want to take a tune-up for his next fight. He wants the Garcia or Manny Pacquiao clash straightaway. If he can’t get one of those two, he’ll opt for the best available contender in the 147-pound division.

Image: Vergil Ortiz analyzes Errol Spence vs. Danny Garcia

Ortiz gives Danny Garcia shot at beating Spence

“Spence vs. Garcia. I don’t know because Danny is pretty strong, and Spence is strong as well, and I’m sure he has the size advantage on him,” said Ortiz Jr. to Cory Lee Boxing in analyzing the Spence vs. Danny Garcia fight. “I wouldn’t be surprised if Danny won, but I still expect Errol to win.

“Danny Garcia is a really strong fighter, and he’s really powerful and one of the hardest-hitting fighters in the welterweight division,” said Ortiz Jr. “Here’s the thing. Shawn Porter and Danny Garcia are two different fighters.

“They’re way different fighters. Shawn Porter is a street fighter. He likes to go in there and brawl. When you go in with a fighter like that, it’s always going to be a back and forth fight; That’s all you’re going to see,” said Ortiz.

Garcia has the power to knock out anyone in the welterweight division if he lands flush, but Spence won’t make it easy on him. The last thing on Spence’s mind is to get in the trenches with Garcia.

What we’re likely to see is a repeat of Spence vs. Mikey Garia with Danny getting a boxing lesson, and not landing much of anything. The problem that Danny Garcia has is he’s a flat-footed fighter, who can’t move and is dependent on his opponents being stationary. When Garcia fights guys that can run a little, he struggles and looks miserable.

Errol beats Danny Garcia

“There’s not a lot of clean shots landed, and there’s a lot of dirty stuff going on—a lot of hugging and a lot of wrestling,” Ortiz said of Spence’s fight with Shawn Porter. “I’m not even going to lie. I didn’t even see the fight. I just saw a few highlights here and there, because I knew exactly what was going to happen and what kind of fight it was going to be.

“So I didn’t even bother to watch it. You can’t take anything from that fight. But in talking about Danny Garcia and Errol Spence, I think Errol is going to win, but I think he has to be careful, especially with his car accident.

“We don’t know how he is with his head right now. We don’t know how he took that. And Danny Garcia is probably one of the hardest-hitting fighters in the welterweight division right now. I still expect Errol to win, but I wouldn’t be surprised if Danny beat him,” said Ortiz Jr.

Danny’s best chance of beating Spence is if he can connect with one of his hard-left counter punches like he did in his fourth-round knockout win over Amir Khan in 2012. That was easily the best win over Danny’s 13-year professional career.

Danny has other wins over notable guys like Zab Judah, Lamont Peterson, Robert Guerrero, Paulie Malignaggi, and Erik Morales, but they were over-the-hill when he fought them.

Errol can hurt Terence Crawford

“I think it’s a close fight,” said Ortiz when asked about a fight between Spence and Terence Crawford. “And I would give the edge to Errol. I think he could potentially hurt Crawford and put him down a few times, and possibly stop him.

“Crawford is really good technically wise. He’s a very technical fighter and keeps his distance really well. Who knows? Maybe that’ll give Errol some thinking to do.

“When you’re going against a slick fighter, you tend to think a lot. Maybe you’re a little cautious about what you’re going to throw and all that,” said Ortiz.

Spence might have too much size, power, and experience for Terence Crawford to deal with. Although Crawford is praised by fans worldwide, his resume is thin and barren of talent. Crawford’s popularity is based on how good he looks in beating lesser fighters like Khan, John Molina Jr., Jeff Horn, and Egidijus Kavaliauskas.

Image: Vergil Ortiz analyzes Errol Spence vs. Danny Garcia

Vergil Ortiz: A fight with Spence won’t go the distance

“I think a fight between Errol and me would be a good action-packed fight,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr. “We did come from the same gym. A lot of people compare the both of us. A lot of people don’t even know we came out of the same gym.

“I think people count me out because they don’t think I’m big enough, but what they don’t realize is I’m the same height as him if not taller. I’m still pretty strong, and I think it would be a good fight. I don’t think it would go the distance.

“We’re not going to be happy with a decision. I think we’re going to leave it out there. Hopefully, we get a stoppage. All the respect to Errol. I’ve grown up with him and looked up to him when he was an amateur before he turned pro, and before he even tried out for the Olympic trials.

“We never sparred because when he was in my gym, I was only 11-years-old, and he was probably already in his 20s. I’m 22, and I think he’s 30. Errol is from Desoto [Texas]. I try not to let my emotions get in the way because if you get heated at the moment, that’s when you can’t think straight. I’m almost like a machine out there.

I have no emotions in there, and I go in and do my job. In one of my fights, I don’t remember warming up or anything. I went into the fight like, and I wasn’t even in the fighting mode, and I went out, and I felt like nothing happened, to be honest.

It would be a good idea for Vergil Ortiz Jr. to get more experience under his belt before he takes on Spence because he hasn’t fought against anyone yet. The 22-year-old Ortiz’s best wins thus far in his four-year pro career have come against Brad Solomon, Antonio Orozco, and Mauricio Herrera. Those guys aren’t contenders.

Mikey Garcia gave Vergil Ortiz Jr. huge problems in sparring

“This was my second fight. It lasted 40 seconds, and that was the thing. So I didn’t even feel like I was fighting,” said Ortiz Jr. “It was too quick. I don’t do anything,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr. when asked if he drinks. “If you’re into sports, you can’t do anything.

“For me, when I get hit, and I feel their power, I think, ‘Oh, that’s it. Okay.’ Sometimes, I expect a little more, and sometimes I lose respect for people’s power—my confidence skyrockets.

“Mikey Garcia,” said Ortiz Jr. when asked who he sparred with that he respected. “When I sparred with him the first time, I’m not going to lie. This was in 2018, and it was two years ago. He completely broke me down so easily, and I was surprised.

“I felt like no one can make me look like an amateur, and he did exactly that. After a few sparring sessions, I felt like I was a completely different fighter. He’s taught me so much. It wasn’t like he surprised me. It was like I think it surprised myself in how green I still was, and there are levels to this,” said Ortiz.

The fact that Ortiz Jr. struggled against little Mikey Garcia in 2018 suggests that he’s still not ready for guys like Spence, Keith Thurman, Crawford, or Porter right now. Ortiz should test himself against Yordenis Ugas, Danny Garcia, and David Avanesyan before he looks to take on one of the talented welterweights.

Image: Vergil Ortiz analyzes Errol Spence vs. Danny Garcia

Spence had too much size for Mikey

“What I remember from that was he was just too small,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr. when asked what happened with Mikey Garcia against Spence. “Oh no,” said Ortiz about him not being too small for Errol. “Mikey is kind of short. I think when he went into that fight [with Spence], he was a little heavy and he wasn’t as fast as he usually is, and maybe a little less explosive.

“So, there’s a lot of things that played into that fight. Sometimes you have an off night. As for me, I’m a natural 147. I don’t have to do anything. Just cut down a little bit, and rehydrate or whatever. But you should have seen me next to Errol. We’re pretty much the same height, and pretty much the same built,” said Ortiz.

It wasn’t just the same advantage that Spence had over Garcia in their fight in March 2019. Spence’s boxing ability was too advanced for Mikey to deal with, and his work rate was too much for his low punch output.

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