Vergil Ortiz Jr: “They’re giving people the wrong information, just straight up false information.”
By Gary Kittilsen
It has been a tumultuous 12 months for the undefeated, 24-year-old welterweight prospect, Vergil Oritz of Grand Prairie, Texas. He is coming off the longest layoff of his career and recovering from rhabdomyolysis, a potentially life-threatening condition that attacks the kidneys. Ortiz described the illness in no uncertain terms: “I literally felt like my body was falling apart.”
Ortiz has been the media darling since he emerged onto the boxing scene in 2016. A hard-working, humble, knockout artist who avoided controversy and stayed out of the headlines. Ortiz suddenly found himself amid a media firestorm when he pulled out of his fight with McKinson earlier in the year due to the diagnosis. Criticism Ortiz thought was unfair:
“I was being labelled as not disciplined. It bothered me.” He said. “I’ve been doing the best that I can. I’ve been busting my ass for months.” The criticism came as a result of rumours he was overweight in camp and wasn’t going to make the 147-pound limit. Allegations the Texan noted are simply untrue:
“They’re giving people the wrong information, just straight up false information,” Ortiz explained that camp and the weight cut were going fine. “I was eating perfectly, everything was going good, and then everything went south.” Ortiz continued for a while at camp until the condition worsened. He just didn’t feel right and knew something was wrong:
“We went to the doctor, and they did some blood tests and discovered that my muscles were literally breaking down.” The attacks on Ortiz bothered the young fighter, who prides himself on his work ethic. “They were slandering my name. People who are up there [in the boxing world] with straight up false information.”
Ortiz previously has been credited by former trainer Robert Garica as the hardest worker in their camp. A sentiment, current trainer Manny Robles seconds. “Robert Garcia is 100% correct on that. This kid is extremely dedicated. He knows what he wants, and that is to become a world champion.” Robles explained.
The medically caused layoff was a tough time Ortiz illustrated. “It was pretty tough. I felt lost.” It was far and away the longest layoff of his young career, and the inactivity caused another type of stress. “Being the breadwinner in my family, that’s what I am, and to know I am not fighting it was depressing.” An emotional Ortiz clarified, “I am not doing my job. I am the man of the family.”
Becoming a world champion is now the likely next step for the undefeated Texan after scoring a ninth-round TKO over Mckinson in Fort Worth, just 20 miles or so from where he grew up. In addition to being ranked number one by the WBO, the bout with McKinson was a final eliminator for the WBA belt. Ortiz is now in line to fight for both WBA and WBO straps. When asked if he had a preference for fighting either Spence or Crawford? Ortiz remained impartial:
“Whoever wins that fight or if they even fight, I don’t care. I’d be happy to fight either one.”
However, he gave the edge to Crawford if the two were to fight:
“Based on recent performances, it’s a close fight, but I would favour Crawford. Ugas hurt Spence, and if that was Crawford, he could have finished it.”
Ortiz’s fearlessness and willingness to fight anyone has gotten him to the verge of a world title, in perhaps boxing’s most loaded division, in just 19 professional bouts. Bernard Hopkins, a partner in Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, paid the youngster the ultimate compliment about his willingness to fight anyone: “He has that in him, he will fight anyone. I would say only about 20% of the top fighters have that, and that’s low.”
Ortiz passed a difficult challenge Saturday night at The Dickie’s Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. He suffered a cut from a head butt early in the bout and went into the ninth round for the first time in his career. Oritz described being cut for the first time:
“Yea, I graduated. It’s my first cut. It was a head butt. It’s my fault. I should have done a better job of keeping him off. I saw a little bit of blood, and I said oh wait, is that his blood or mine? It didn’t hurt.” Ortiz continued describing his performance: “There’s a lot of room for improvement. I know I am going to be mad watching this later. I was headhunting, and he can move. He’s a very elusive fighter and he knew I was going for the head. I made the wrong decision. I should have been trying to cut down the tree.”
Ortiz moved to 19-0 and has won all 19 bouts by way of stoppage. When asked about the knockout streak, the always humble fighter downplayed his power:
“I am not saying I have devastating power or anything, but I can hit a little bit.” He admitted. The North Texas native described the rush of fighting in front of his hometown fans. “It’s a wonderful feeling having the whole [Dallas-Fort Worth] Metroplex have your back! That’s always a great feeling.”
With the McKinson win, Ortiz is now in line to fight either Crawford or Spence next. When asked about making the welterweight limit in the future and the rumours that were circulating about his struggles to make 147 pounds, a victorious Ortiz responded confidently:
“I am still making 147 ok, it’s not a problem. I can stay here till I win a world title. I feel really good. I have to say, yes. I can still make it comfortably.”
Given his standing with both sanctioning bodies, his ability to make the weight, and having no preference plus a willingness to fight either guy, he should certainly get one of the two champions next.
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