On January 26, 20109 in Houston, Texas, WBO Jr. Middleweight champion Jaime Munguia will be the headlining fighter, but fast rising Super Lightweight contender Vergil Ortiz (11-0, 11 KOs) will be looking to steal the show.
Ortiz will be looking to keep his knockout streak alive when he matches up with veteran Jesus Valdez Barrayan (23-4-1, 12 KOS).
At only 20 years of age, Ortiz is creating quite the buzz in the boxing world. How can a prospect that is so young with only 11 fights under his belt gain so much attention in such a short amount of time you may ask?
That’s easy. He not only wins, but he does so in devastating fashion. He has yet to allow his opponents to make it past the third round. For Golden Boy Promotions, they understand that they may have something special in Ortiz. This was confirmed when he was placed on the undercard of Canelo Alvarez vs. Rocky Fielding card at the end of 2018.
Not only does every Canelo fight garner major attention, but the event also took place in New York City at the famed Madison Square Garden. It seemed as though Golden Boy was aligning their young prospect to be viewed by the public at large.
Unfortunately for Ortiz however, two months prior he had LASIK eye surgery performed to correct an eye issue. According to New York’s letter of the law, a boxer is not allowed to perform in their state if they have any procedure done on their eyes. Ortiz was beyond disappointed in the commission’s decision to not allow him to fight.
“I was really upset,” said Ortiz to Round By Round Boxing. “I was there in the building just watching the fights and watching how everyone was reacting to all the action. I just kept thinking to myself that I should be in there right now.”
The disappointment is understandable for Ortiz. This was arguably his biggest opportunity to date. Instead of allowing that heart break to consume him, Ortiz just got right back to work and will be rewarded for his efforts as he will be returning back to the ring on a card that is sure to receive some buzz.
“I’m just happy to get back in the ring and compete,” said Ortiz. “I have a tough opponent in front of me but I’ve trained really hard and I’ll be ready come the 26th.”
Ortiz understands that he is very young in his career, but he expects to gain a title shot very soon.
“If everything goes well I’ll be looking to get a title shot at either the end of this year or early 2020 for sure,” said Ortiz. “Before I get to my 20th fight I plan on getting my first crack at a title.”
Not only does the undefeated prospect feel as though he will be ready, he also believes that he is much different than other prospects in various ways.
“Sometimes I’ll see guys that are around my age working in the gym. Compared to the way that I work it’s not even close,” said Ortiz. “A lot of these guys say that they are different but they all do the same thing. They all just want to be babied.”
Ortiz is on the rise and is looking to have a big year. As far as how he sees his fight going this Saturday, Ortiz had this to say.
“I plan on getting the victory,” said Ortiz. “When I don’t go looking for the knockout it usually comes even easier ironically. Come the 26th I will win. I’ve worked too hard to lose.”
Ortiz is a must-see prospect. We will get our chance to see him Saturday in Houston, Texas and live on DAZN.
