Vergil Ortiz Jr is a fast-rising star in the welterweight division, and the 22-year-old Golden Boy fighter is already sort of straddling the line between prospect and contender as he gets set to return on Saturday, March 20, facing former 140-pound titlist Maurice Hooker in a DAZN main event from Texas.
Ortiz (16-0, 16 KO) has his focus on Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KO), but let’s not bury the lede for most people here: Ortiz told Fight Hub TV’s Marcos Villegas that he also has his hopes to fight WBO titleholder Terence “Bud” Crawford, and is confident he can beat the three-division champ.
Estrada-Chocolatito 2 and more: Best fights for March 2021 in boxing badlefthook.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from badlefthook.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Yurik Mamedov, Brad Solomon Pick Up Wins in Mexico Tue Feb 09, 2021, 12:32 PM EST
Welterweight prospect Yurik Mamedov stopped Jose Espinoza Jaramillo in round 3 Saturday night at the Gimnasio Municipal Martin Canizalez in Ures, Sonora, Mexico.
Mamedov improves to 13-1, 5 knockouts.
The 30-year-old Mamedov, who is of French descent and was born in Yaroslavl, Russia, had not fought since stopping Eduardo Cordovez in November 2019, winning a regional junior welterweight title in the process.
From the opening bell, Mamedov was the aggressor, working behind a steady jab and following up with right hands and hooks to the body. Espinoza felt the effects of the punches, backing up against the ropes and trying to land his own array of punches that had little effect on Mamedov.
Photo By Tom Hogan/Golden Boy/Getty Images
Ortiz (16-0, 16 KO) is a real rising star at 147 pounds, but has limited options as a Golden Boy fighter, with most of the division’s top fighters with PBC, sort of a “lite” version of the issue Terence Crawford has faced the last few years.
But the 22-year-old Ortiz has faced acceptable veteran tests for his experience level, and passed each one with flying colors, stopping Mauricio Herrera, Antonio Orozco, Brad Solomon, and Samuel Vargas in his last four outings. The Vargas bout was the last one, coming in July 2020.
Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KO) is a 31-year-old former WBO titleholder at 140 pounds, and this will be his first real fight at 147. He won his belt in 2018, beating Terry Flanagan for the vacant title on the road in England, and defended successfully against Alex Saucedo and Mikkel LesPierre in 2018 and 2019, respectively.
Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Maurice Hooker in the works for March 27th on DAZN badlefthook.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from badlefthook.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.