Interim WBC junior middleweight champion Virgil Ortiz Jr. said he immediately agreed to fight Israel Madrimov after Jaron “Boots” Ennis opted not to fight him on the February 22 card in Riyadh.
Virgil Jr. should not be involved in another controversial decision coming his way because it looked bad for him to win a controversial decision in his last fight against Serhiy Bohachuk. If he got too much of it, it would limit his star power.
Fears of reduced production
Madrimov has the skills and power to make this a tough fight for Ortiz Jr., but he doesn't throw a lot of punches, which would give Virgil Jr. a huge advantage. It's busier.
In Madrimov's loss to Terence Crawford, he didn't throw enough in the tournament rounds and was tired. It was a winnable fight, but he allowed Crawford to outmaneuver him despite his lack of strength, size, and youth. Terrence wanted it more. Virgil Jr. and his team likely saw Madrimov's production decline, which may be one of the reasons they agreed to fight him. He could be out of work.
Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) said it “motivates him” in training camp when he prepares to fight a quality opponent. However, he has only fought one good opponent during his nine-year career, beating interim WBC 154-pound champion Bohachuk by a highly questionable 12-round majority decision on August 10 of last year in Las Vegas.
Virgil was dropped twice by Bohachuk, hitting the deck on first and eighth. He protested the first knockdown, saying it was a slip, but replays showed it was a knockout.
Many boxing fans lost to Virgil, feeling he was gifted with a decision over the Ukrainian fighter. Ortiz Jr. received a lot of criticism from people when he chose not to give Bohachuk a rematch to clear up the controversy. Turki Al-Sheikh could have insisted on fighting, and Virgil Jr. probably would have done so. That never happened, so Virgil now walks forward followed by a dark cloud.
Other than Bohachuk, Virgil's only notable win on his resume came against Egidigos
Kavaliauskas. He faltered early in the fight but somehow survived to score a knockdown in the eighth round.
Can Madrimov win?
“It's a great fight on paper. He just had a great fight against Crawford. He did a really good job. Even though he lost, it's not the type of performance you can be ashamed of. He did a great job,” Virgil Ortiz Jr. said. talkSport Boxing About Israel Madrimov's recent loss to Terence Crawford on August 3rd.
“We were going to fight Boots, but the fight was over. So, I was thinking, ‘Am I still going to fight on the card?’ It was kind of up in the air, and then I got a call from my dad, ‘Are you going to fight Madrimov?’ I’m like, ‘Yes, I will. “It's a great fight. The reason I said yes is because he's a strong fighter.
“I'm a very competitive person. He motivates me in training camps when I know I have a tough fight ahead of me. He keeps me focused. I know there's a lot at stake (against Madrimov), but I love it. It gets the adrenaline pumping,” Virgil Jr. said.
This will be Virgil's second good opponent in his career, and it will be interesting to see how well he performs. “Little GGG” Madrimov can strike with both hands and has excellent boxing skills. Again, he does not have high productivity, and his endurance is weak. He gassed Crawford in the championship rounds.
Ennis ducks?
“Can we talk about Boots for a second because there's been a bit of an argument between you two,” Gareth A. said. Davis told Virgil Jr. about what happened with the fight between him and Jaron “Boots” Ennis not happening. “It's a fight we all want to see. There's almost 40 fights between the two of you. Do you feel like he (Ennis) is avoiding you? There's the controversy about the weight and all that.
“I don't think he's avoiding me. I think there's someone on the team who's lying,” Ortiz Jr. said of his belief that someone on Ennis' team isn't being honest. “We as boxers, we're not the ones negotiating. We don't communicate. We have managers for a reason.
“I'm not saying he's his manager because there are a lot of people playing him. I can't say who he is because I don't know who he is. All I know is he's on our side, so we said, 'Yes.' I think so,” Ortiz Jr. said when asked if He thought he would fight Jaron Ennis in the end: “It's a fight that needs to happen.”
