Tag: Mauricio Herrera

Vergil Ortiz Jr. to face Samuel Vargas on July 24 in California

Vergil Ortiz Jr. is scheduled to face Samuel Vargas in a 12-round bout on July 24 at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, on DAZN.

Vergil Ortiz and Golden Boy Promotions are coming back.

Ortiz, the hot 22-year-old welterweight contender, is scheduled to face Samuel Vargas in a 12-round bout on July 24 at Fantasy Springs Casino in Indio, California, on DAZN. Golden Boy’s first card since the coronavirus pandemic took hold will take place behind closed doors.

Ortiz (15-0, 15 KOs) and Vargas (31-5-2, 14 KOs) were scheduled to meet on March 28 but the fight was canceled.

“I’m very thankful and excited to be headlining the first Golden Boy event after the quarantine,” Ortiz said. “I’m happy that it’s still with the same opponent, so basically we’re picking up where we left off. It’s going to be a tough fight, and it’ll be a great way to kick off the year for me.”

Ortiz had a breakout year in 2019, stopping in order Jesus Barrayan, Mauricio Herrera, Antonio Orozco and Brad Solomon. The Solomon fight took place in December, meaning Ortiz will have been out of the ring for seven months.

Vargas is in the class of Ortiz’s last three opponents. The Toronto-based Colombian veteran has lost to Errol Spence Jr., Danny Garcia, Amir Khan and Luis Collazo over the past five years.

“I think that everything happens for a reason,” Vargas said. “I think this time off benefited me. I’m ready to upset the world. I believe I can come out with the win. The world is a weird place right now. The show will be different. There will be no fans, but I have no doubt I’m going to win.”

In the co-feature, lightweight prospect Hector Tanajara Jr. (19-0, 5 KOs) of San Antonio will take a step up in opposition when he faces two-time title challenger Mercito Gesta (32-3-3, 17 KOs) of the Philippines in a 10-round bout.

“I’m ready for the best of the division,” Tanajara said. “I want to be a world champion, and the only way to do that is to beat tough fighters like Mercito Gesta, who has challenged for a world title and is a southpaw with a lot of experience.

“Also, I’m very thankful to be fighting during this time. Boxing is slowly coming back, and I’m proud to be featured on the first Golden Boy card after the big hiatus.”

In preliminaries, Shane Mosley Jr. (15-3, 9 KOs) of Pomona, California, will make his Golden Boy debut against Jeremy Ramos (11-8, 2 KOs) of Colorado Springs, Colorado, in an eight-round middleweight bout

Also, Seniesa Estrada (18-0, 7 KOs) of East Los Angeles, junior featherweight prospect Hector Valdez (12-0, 8 KOs) of Dallas and welterweight prospect Evan Sanchez (7-0, 6 KOs) of Parlier, California, will fight on the card. Their opponents have not been determined.

“Preparing our comeback hasn’t been easy, but we know that we have a responsibility to our fighters and our fans to stage high-level boxing events as soon as we possibly can,” said Oscar De La Hoya, Chairman and CEO of Golden Boy. “This card demonstrates our commitment to presenting competitive fights despite current circumstances as the future of boxing.”

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Video: Vergil Ortiz Jr.’s Top 10 knockouts

Welterweight Vergil Ortiz is one of the hottest prospects in the sport. He’s also a knockout machine. The 22-year-old product of Dallas has stopped each of the 15 opponents he has faced in his four-year career, 12 inside three rounds. And even as he …

Welterweight Vergil Ortiz is one of the hottest prospects in the sport. He’s also a knockout machine.

The 22-year-old product of Dallas has stopped each of the 15 opponents he has faced in his four-year career, 12 inside three rounds. And even as he steps up his opposition, he’s getting the same results.

He has knocked out, in order, Mauricio Herrera, Antonio Orozco and Brad Solomon in his breakout 2019.

Next up for Ortiz? He is scheduled to face Samuel Vargas on July 24 in Indio, California on DAZN.

Here is a look back at the rising star’s Top 10 knockouts.

Video courtesy of DAZN.

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Video: Vergil Ortiz discusses his breakout year in 2019

Vergil Ortiz sat down with DAZN before his fight with Brad Solomon a few months ago to discuss his breakout year in 2019.

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Vergil Ortiz arrived in 2019.

The 21-year-old welterweight contender had four fights and four knockouts last year, stopping Jesus Barrayan and veterans Mauricio Herrera, Antonio Orozco and Brad Solomon all within six rounds.

Now he’s considered a rising star who will one day challenge the best at either 147 or 154 pounds.

Ortiz (15-0, 15 KOs) was scheduled to face Samuel Vargas on March 28 but the fight was postponed because of the coronavirus pandemic.

The Dallas resident sat down for an interview before the Dec. 13 Solomon fight to discuss his breakout year and rise in boxing. He was asked to grade his year up to that point.

“You know what? I would grade this year definitely A+,” he said. “I’ve fought some quality opponents, taken them out when a lot of people didn’t think I would — including me.

“I feel like I’ve shown that I belong [among] the top dogs. I feel like people are starting to recognize me a lot more. This was my breakout year and I’m going to break out even more next year.”

 

Vergil Ortiz Jr. puts punctuation mark on remarkable 2019

Vergil Ortiz Jr. scored a fifth-round TKO of Brad Solomon on Friday in Indio Calif., the welterweight prospect’s fourth victory in 2019.

It’s hard to know exactly when a prospect becomes a contender, but Vergil Ortiz Jr. might have taken that step with a definitive stoppage Friday night that left him with a perfect record in 2019 and limitless possibilities in the New Year.

Ortiz (15-0, 15 KOs) scored a fifth-round TKO of Brad Solomon at Fantasy Springs in Indio Calif. Solomon (28-2, 9 KOs) used a mix of tactics in an apparent attempt at forcing the young Ortiz into doing something he can’t.

But Ortiz, a 21-year-old welterweight from Dallas, continued to show that there’s nothing he can’t do.

Solomon, of Douglasville, Georgia, stayed away in the opening moments. Then he moved forward, throwing punches. But it was all to no avail against the multi-skilled Ortiz, a Golden Boy-promoted fighter who knocked down Solomon in the fourth round with a jab and finished him with two knockdowns in the fifth.

“He was pretty difficult to figure out,’’ Ortiz told DAZN.  “He kept me at bay and really made me use my brain. I had to figure out the range. I just had to use my smarts.’’

The stoppage was Ortiz’s fourth in 2019. It was also his third straight of a fighter who had never been stopped before. He finished Mauricio Herrera in three rounds on May 5. He stopped Antonio Orozco in six on Aug 10.

Stopping Ortiz in 2020 might be hard to do.

Vergil Ortiz show continues against Brad Solomon on Dec. 13

Vergil Ortiz will be going for his fourth knockout of 2019 when he faces Brad Solomon on Dec. 13 in Indio, California.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. surprised a lot of people in 2019 – including himself.

Ortiz, who faces Brad Soloman on Dec. 13 in a scheduled 12-round welterweight bout to close out his remarkable year, had been on an impressive run of knockouts but that was against second-tier opponents. What happened when he stepped up his opposition? Same results.

Ortiz (14-0, 14 knockouts) became the first to stop veterans Maurico Herrera and Antonio Orozco in May and August, respectively. Solomon (28-1, 9 KOs) also has never been KO’d.

Few prospects are as hot as the 21-year-old Ortiz at the moment.

“I would grade this year as definitely A+,” said Ortiz, who started the year by stopping Jesus Barrayan in January. “I’ve fought some quality opponents. I took them out when some people didn’t believe I would – including me. I’ve really shown that I really belong with the top dogs.”

What’s Ortiz’s secret? As his trainer, Robert Garcia put it, “He works his ass off.”

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“Vergil is only 21 so he’s a very young fighter,” Garcia said, “but at 21 he already has the strength, the mentality, the experience of a 27-year-old. He’s focused on one thing and that’s to become a world champion and to beat anybody in front of him. He’s one of the, if not the hardest working fighter I have in my gym, including all the world champions.

“He works his ass off. That’s one thing that he was raised to do, since he was a kid with his dad, his dad prepared him for one thing and that’s to be great in boxing. Little by little, he’s been growing and now he’s a professional, now he’s ready for any top fighter in the division.”

That doesn’t mean Ortiz is looking beyond Solomon, a proven veteran with some notable victories. His stick-and-move style could test Ortiz in Indio, California. The fight will be streamed on DAZN.

“What I know about Brad Solomon, he’s a very experienced fighter, he has double the wins that I have,” Ortiz said. “He’s crafty, he definitely brings something different to the table than my past fighters you know, he’s not going to stay in the ring, he’s going to want to make me miss, going to want to stick a move.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. is one of the hottest prospects in boxing. Tom Hogan-Hoganphotos / Golden Boy

“We haven’t seen me fight someone like that in the professionals yet so everyone’s going to see how I do against a fighter like that. I’m ready to show people that I can fight any way, if I need to adjust then I can adjust.”

When might Ortiz fight for a world title? Garcia said there’s no hurry.

“We don’t want to rush him,” he said, “we want to go fight by fight, especially right now at welterweight, we have to understand that a lot of the champions are fighting for other promotions and the fights are going to be very hard to negotiate. We’re not looking for any type of fight right now, we’re going fight by fight. If the right fight for a title comes, maybe at a different weight division, maybe we would consider it, but it would have to be the right fight against the right champion.

“At welterweight I don’t see any champion fighting Vergil in 2020. There’s no rush. The fans still haven’t seen the best of Vergil Ortiz.”