WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu reacted to the call out from 154-lb newcomer Vergil Ortiz Jr. on Saturday night, telling him on Twitter that he’s “always keen to a modern-day classic.”
Tszyu is looking unbeatable now at this point in his career, and it might be a little too much of a step up in class for Vergil Jr. to take on this level of a fighter after just one match in the weight class.
Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) won his first fight at 154 on Saturday night, stopping Fredrick Lawson (30-4, 22 KOs) in the first round at the Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.
Immediately after the fight, the 25-year-old Vergil Ortiz called out Tszyu, saying he wanted to fight him next and was willing to do it in Australia. He doesn’t care.
The ambitious Vergil is already foaming at the mouth, wanting to take on the unbeaten Tszyu (24-0, 17 KOs), hoping to dethrone him in what would be his first true fight at 154.
Tonight’s match against Lawson didn’t count because it was at 156-lb catchweight, and that’s what Vergil weighed in at last Friday.
What Ortiz Jr. should do is fight one of the gatekeepers at 154 next to prove to the fans that he can make the weight without being drained and fight with a quality referee who won’t stop the contest immediately like we saw tonight.
“Of course, everyone likes those kinds of fights. Those are the kinds of fights that get me excited,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr. to the media tonight when asked if he likes the idea that Tim Tszyu is someone that he won’t have to go looking for because he’ll be right there in his face all night when they fight.
“To the fans, I know that’s not the ending that you wanted, but it was coming. I’m back, and I’m ready to give you some more knockouts,” said Ortiz Jr. in his message to the fans.
