Vergil Ortiz Jr. might just be the best fighter at 154 pounds.
He wants to prove he is one by fighting the best in the division.
Ortiz will face Erickson Lubin on Saturday, Nov. 8, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The 12-round bout will headline a Golden Boy Promotions card that will stream live on DAZN at 5 p.m.
Ortiz’s interim WBC world junior middleweight title will be at stake.
The 23-year-old Ortiz (23-0, 21 knockouts) will have a partisan crowd in attendance in Fort Worth. Ortiz grew up and lives in Grand Prairie, about a 30-minute drive from the Dickies Arena.
Ortiz will square off against a formidable opponent in Lubin (27-2, 29 KOs), who has won his last three fights since a knockout loss to then-unified world titleholder Sebastian Fundoria in April 2022. While he is the betting favorite going into the fight, Ortiz is in no way overlooking Lubin.
“I have immense respect for (Lubin),” Ortiz said in an interview with Boxingscene’s Lance Pugmire. “He’s always taken the hard fights. (Jermell) Charlo when he was younger, Fundora, other guys too. We know he’s a game fighter. We’re going to be ready for this one. He’s seasoned, experienced, a slick fighter, southpaw.
“Go in there and do what I do. When I have adjustments that need to be made, I’ll make them. I just have the will to win. I have a very good team behind me. Support from everywhere.”
Besides former world champion Oscar De La Hoya, who owns Golden Boy, that team includes trainer Robert Garcia and manager Rick Mirigian. Garcia, a former world junior lightweight titleholder and a 1993 Channel Islands High School graduate, is considered one of boxing’s top trainers.
Ortiz won the interim WBC title on Aug. 10, 2024, overcoming two knockdowns to defeat Serhii Bohachuk by majority decision in a close fight. The Ortiz-Bohachuk fight was considered one of boxing’s best of last year. Ortiz made a successful defense of the title on Feb. 22 in Riyadh, defeating Israil Madrimov by unanimous decision.
A win over Lubin would solidify his standing in a deep and talent-rich junior middleweight division.
There are possible fights in 2026 against Fundora, the current WBC titleholder, and IBF titleholder Bakhram Murtazaliev, but the fight fans want most to see is a showdown against interim WBA titleholder Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
Ennis made his 154-pound debut on Oct. 11, knocking out Uisma Lima in the opening round in his hometown of Philadelphia. Eddie Hearn, who promotes Ennis, said a fight between Ennis and Ortiz had been verbally agreed in the first quarter of 2026, which Mirigian has vehemently denied.
Ortiz has said he wants to fight the best in the division, including Ennis, but has been turned down each time by those who he has wanted to face.
Despite setbacks, Ortiz believes a showdown will take place against one of the world titleholders in the division or against Ennis in 2026.
“It’s kind of amusing in a way. People are trying to continue this narrative that I’m ducking, but when we send the contracts, they aren’t getting signed. So we continue to look for opposition that is credible,” Ortiz said. “We really just want the best fights. That’s what I’m all about and that’s what we’ll continue to do, whether people want to fight or not.”
Francisco A. Salazar covers boxing for The Star. He has also written for Ring Magazine and Boxingscene. He can be reached on X (formerly Twitter) at FSalazarBoxing.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Local boxing notebook | Garcia-trained Ortiz Jr. ready for fight in Texas
Reporting by Francisco A. Salazar / Ventura County Star
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
