Vergil Ortiz Jr. (15-0, 15 KOs) appeared in the ring four times in 2019 and each and every time he failed to see the judges scorecards.
It’s a very familiar sight for Ortiz as he has become accustomed to scoring eye-catching knockouts.
The final victim for Ortiz on the year was the unheralded Brad Solomon (28-2, 9 KOs). He seemed like a legitimate fighter as he only had one defeat in his pro career before stepping into the ring with Ortiz.
Ortiz is an overaggressive big puncher. This time around however, he stuck behind his jab before setting up the knockout shots later on in the contest.
Solomon, who came into this bout as a heavy underdog, proved that he was there to fight as he had himself a very good third round. It was the first time in the young career of Ortiz that he had to use his boxing IQ and not simply just his brute force.
“I got to give him some credit he had some range and kept me at bay,” said Vergil Ortiz during the post-fight interview. “He made me use my brain in there. I was just trying to figure out how to time him.”
Ortiz found the exact timing he was looking for in the fifth. Solomon hit the deck on multiple occasions, but found a way to stagger to his feet.
Looking back at it, Solomon should have probably stayed down as Ortiz gave him a beating during the round and forced the referee to stop the contest.
It was the sort of performance that could propel Ortiz to a world title shot in 2020.
Final Grade for Vergil Ortiz: A…….I guess
Look, Vergil Ortiz got the job done. He made this contest a noncompetitive one. But let’s be honest here, Brad Solomon was never known as a world beater and was very inactive over the years.
He has fought just once in 2016, 2017 and 2018. His matchup against Ortiz was his first in over a year and a half.
Bottom line, Ortiz did exactly what he was supposed to do, but let’s calm down with all of the praise that is being heaped upon Ortiz.
He is a great young fighter, but it is difficult to judge just how great he is when he is matched up with the likes of Brad Solomon.
