Oscar De La Hoya predicts that his fighter, interim junior middleweight champion Virgil Ortiz Jr., will “steal the show” on the February 22 card with a win over “Little JGG” Israel Madrimov in Riyadh.
De La Hoya feels Vergil Jr's in-ring smarts will enable him to handle the power of former WBA 154-pound champion Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) in their fight on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2.
Will Ortiz Jr. steal the show?
Oscar says this is a tough fight for Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KO) to come off of his tough fight against Serhiy Bohachuk on August 10. Virgil Jr., 26, was downed twice In that fight, he fired many heavy shots, and was lucky to win.
The punishment that Ismael Davis, Bohachuk's last opponent, received last Saturday night in Riyadh, is nothing compared to what Ortiz Jr. received last August. That's why there are question marks over whether Virgil Jr. can stand up to the power of Madrimov on February 22.
While he had time to recover from the beating he took from Bohachuk, it may not be enough for him to take on a guy who hits just as hard, if not harder, against “Little GGG.” This is not a fight where Virgil Jr. can count on winning by overpowering Madrimov the way he did against Bohachuk in the last three rounds to get the victory.
“Little GGG”: The Power of Madrimov.
“Style-wise, it's a tough fight. Virgil had a huge win over (Serhiy) Bohachuk,” Oscar De La Hoya said. Combat Center TVtalks about Virgil Ortiz Jr. defending his interim junior middleweight title against Israel Madrimov next month on February 22 in Riyadh.
“So, there are almost similar styles in a way. Madrimov has a better boxing IQ but he hits hard like a mule (kicks), and he comes forward. It's going to be a very entertaining fight. Virgil Ortiz is going to steal the show that night.”
“Virgil Ortiz is a very smart fighter. He knows exactly what to do inside the ring. I'm sure he studies his opponents. His assistant and his team study their opponents to make sure Virgil is in the ideal conditions,” Oscar said.
Madrimov's style is very different from Bohachuk's, and is not even close to the same. De La Hoya got it wrong, thinking they had similar methods.
Bohachuk is a relentless, big-time player who never stops throwing. In contrast, Madrimov is a low-production boxer with great power. Their similarities lie in their excellent striking power. Madrimov has better hand speed than Bohachuk, but not by much.
Madrimov lost his last fight to Terence Crawford by a close 12-round unanimous decision on August 3 in Los Angeles. It was a possible win for Madrimov in the final four rounds, but he allowed Crawford to get the victory by outsmarting him.
He showed great respect for Crawford and did not attack him as relentlessly as he needed to. If you can implant Bohachuk's aggressive style into Madrimov in those final four rounds, he'll likely knock out Crawford or, at the very least, make him a runaway.
Bouncing back
Virgil Jr. had big problems against Bohachuk, falling in the first and eighth rounds. Ortiz Jr.'s 12-round majority victory on August 10 was controversial and hurt his popularity. What made it worse was that Bohachuk was not given a rematch. This reinforced the fans' view that Ortiz Jr. knew he lost and did not want to fight Serhiy again, fearing that the judges would succeed this time.
“Virgil is a very smart young man who knows how to take care of business. He knows how to adapt. I think those adjustments in the first quarter of the fight and the first half of the fight will be very important,” De La Hoya said.
