If you are not currently a fan of the unbeaten, the terribly exciting, the literally willing to fight anyone Vergil Ortiz Jr, the massive question that needs to be asked is – why not!? Ortiz Jr, still just 23 years of age, is fast proving that he is the best young fighter out there today. Ortiz Jr, who overcame a dangerous Egidijus Kavaliauskas this past Saturday, has shown time and again how he is willing to take risks, to lay it on the line – to earn his shot at a world title.
We could do with a hundred young and talented fighters like Ortiz Jr. It’s come to the point where, if you are not rooting for Ortiz Jr when he fights, you need a damn good reason why you aren’t. Ortiz Jr, 18-0(18) now holds fine wins over, Antonio Orozco, Brad Solomon, Samuel Vargas, Maurice Hooker and Kavaliauskas. After picking up his latest win (one that saw him rocked and rolled a little early on in the fight, only to come back and deck “Mean Machine” multiple times to get the 8th round stoppage victory), Ortiz Jr said again how he is willing to fight “anyone.”
Top of Ortiz Jr’s hit list is WBO welterweight champ and pound-for-pound star Terence Crawford. In fact, Ortiz Jr has been calling out Crawford for some time. Crawford has been ordered to next fight Shawn Porter, so Ortiz Jr may have to wait for that fight (and that’s assuming Crawford beats Porter, which is no sure thing). But as of right now, Ortiz has earned his shot (Kavaliauskas also dropped Crawford when they fought, with the ref missing it and ruling a slip).
Ortiz Jr is not the kind of fighter to choose to sit around and wait for his title shot, no, he can be expected to take another top-notch fight, another risky fight, next. To repeat, what’s not to like about Ortiz Jr? The way he’s going, with the talent, the desire and the mentality he has, Ortiz Jr will feature in some super-fights before too long. And we should all be rooting for him when he engages in them.
Vergil Ortiz Jr is a throwback, make-no-excuses, fight-the-best ring warrior who is going about his business during a time in boxing when so many fighters seem less inclined to take risks. Ortiz Jr is what boxing needs right now.