WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) weighed in at 153¾ pounds, while challenger Erickson Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) weighed in at 154 lbs at Friday’s weigh-in for their 12-round main event fight this Saturday, November 8th at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
Ortiz Jr. is the favorite in the fight, but that might not mean much. Lubin has the punching power and the skills to pull off an upset if he chooses to box like he did in his 12-round unanimous decision win over Jesus Ramos Jr. on September 30, 2023.
Although much has been made about the wear and tear of the 30-year-old Lubin, it’s actually Ortiz Jr. who has taken more punishment in his recent fights. His face looked like he’d been run over by a truck after his recent fights against Serhii Bohachuk in August 2024 and Israil Madrimov in February 2025.
“I want to fight the cream of the crop of the division. One thing about Vergil Ortiz is that he doesn’t know how to lose. One thing about me, I know how to blemish records,” said Erickson Lubin to Golden Boy Boxing at Friday’s weigh-in for his fight against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Boots Ennis Watching Closely
There are question marks about whether Vergil Ortiz Jr. is looking past Lubin, as there’s a lot of interest from fans in a fight between him and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis next. Vergil Jr. says he’s focused on Erickson, but it would take a special person to stay dialed in when you’ve such a big fight just over the horizon.
Ennis and his promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing, will be ringside on Saturday night at the Dickies Arena. They want to start the pressure campaign on Vergil Jr. to force him to take the fight next.
If Vergil Jr. loses on Saturday, he’ll have a good excuse to tell the fans. He can blame it on being distracted by Ennis’ presence in the crowd. Some of the fans will be sympathetic to him, and give him a free pass.
Lubin’s Warning at the Scales
“This is an important fight. The winner takes all. We are two of the best fighters in the division. We’ve got the best resumes. The resumes speak for themselves,” said Erickson.
I’m not sure if you can call Ortiz Jr. and Lubin the two best fighters at 154. They’re certainly among the best 10 fighters, but it’s a big much to say they’re the two best. Vergil’s last two fights at 154 showed he’s not the best. If you’re the top dog, you don’t win controversial decisions over Bohachuk and come close to losing to Madrimov.
“He’s the one I wanted to fight. He’s got the dog in him. You’re going to see on Saturday. It’s going to be fireworks,” said Ortiz about his fight against Lubin. “It doesn’t matter who shows up. We’ve got one opponent on Saturday night. We’re worried about him. We’re going to try to take care of business, and we’ve got no distractions going on right now. That’s right,” said Ortiz when asked if he’s the best at 154.
