WHEN you have won 21 fights in a row by knockout, there is a certain pressure and therefore incentive to keep the run going and avoid finishing a fight any other way.
This pressure is something Vergil Ortiz, he of the 21 straight knockouts, will know better than most. His impressive knockout streak, meanwhile, is something he will be keen to extend when fighting Serhii Bohachuk tonight (August 10) in Las Vegas.
Should he achieve this, the Ortiz record will then stand at 22-0, with 22 knockouts. Better yet, should he do to Bohachuk what he has done to 21 others, the heavy-handed Texan will have shown in the process that his power has the potential to travel up through the levels; the idea being that each stoppage win is more impressive – by virtue of the opponent being better – than the one that preceded it.
What you find with Ortiz, 21-0 (21), is that there are a variety of finishes on his record as well. Some opponents succumb to head shots, whereas others end the night crawling around the canvas as a result of an Ortiz body shot. Whatever the method, it can, with Ortiz, either happen in a flash or it can be drawn out, the punishment prolonged. All we know for sure is that eventually the fight will end and that his opponent will be put out of their misery.
So, with 21 from which to choose, here are five of Ortiz’s most impressive finishes to date:
1) Thomas Dulorme
Date: April 27, 2024
Result: W KO 1
The very definition of conclusive, Ortiz’s one-round dismissal of Thomas Dulorme in April was achieved with just a single swing of a left arm towards the Puerto Rican’s midsection. This shot, a left hook, landed on the sweet spot for Ortiz, which meant the pain for Dulorme, its recipient, couldn’t have been any worse. Winded immediately, he could then be seen rolling around the canvas like an insomniac struggling to find the best position in which to sleep. He tried everything, too, his back, his sides, even pulling up onto his knees, but nothing would take away Dulorme’s pain.
2) Mauricio Herrera
Date: May 4, 2019
Result: W KO 3
An example of Ortiz’s pure artistry, Mauricio Herrera, his opponent, was in round three a man trapped and attempting to outwit the inevitable. Backed up to the ropes, he had nowhere to run, much less hide, and Ortiz, sensing he now had him on the hook, was relentless in his pursuit. It was during this pursuit he landed a beautiful right cross-left uppercut-left hook combination which had Herrera in all sorts of trouble and promptly followed this with another big left hook. To then finish, he threw a lead right hand, which not only caught Herrera by surprise but removed anything he had left from both his body and mind. He didn’t so much fall to the canvas as sink.
3) Maurice Hooker
Date: March 20, 2021
Result: W KO 7
Most of the damage in this one was done in round six, even if the fight itself would end in the seventh. It was in the sixth that Hooker was hurt by a left hook to the body and, after staggering back to a corner, went down off an Ortiz combination. He got up, to his credit, and would even try fighting back, but the writing was very much on the wall for “Mighty Mo” at that point. Indeed, it came as no surprise when, in the seventh, Ortiz nailed Hooker with a sickening right hand in the centre of the ring and Hooker, knowing he was beaten, turned away and took a knee. This time, rather than rise, he stayed put, believing it was for the best.
4) Samuel Vargas
Date: July 24, 2020
Result: W TKO 7
Even if ultimately stopped on his feet by Ortiz, the sheer amount of punishment Samuel Vargas took in round seven makes this fight notable, both as an example of Vargas’ toughness and Ortiz’s vast array of punches. Landing pretty much every shot in the book in the seventh, Ortiz for three minutes treated Vargas like a punchbag, a beatdown made all the more disturbing by virtue of it taking place in a silent arena (due to the Covid-19 pandemic). Vargas, meanwhile, had absolutely no answer and could only take what he was given; whether given to his body or his head. At one stage, after being rocked by Ortiz’s right hand, he managed to grab hold of Ortiz and take him down to the canvas with him, but that, an illegal move, seemed the only way Vargas would be able to douse the fire blazing in front of him.
5) Antonio Orozco
Date: August 10, 2019
Result: W KO 6
Yet another example of Ortiz’s dominance in the ring, this stoppage win began with a wonderfully accurate left uppercut which pierced the guard of Antonio Orozco in round six. As spiteful as it was shocking, this one punch dropped Orozco and, while on one knee, had him questioning whether it would be wise to continue. Continue he did, however, and upon the restart he found himself then pinged by a left hook, as well as a right hand that made his knees dip in the middle of the ring. Thinking at the time he had touched the canvas, Ortiz instinctively turned to the referee only to realise he had underestimated Orozco’s balance and ability to stay upright. Consequently, Ortiz went back for more, finishing the job with a right cross-left hook combination, the impact of which had Orozco, never before stopped in 28 pro fights, tumbling to the canvas for the second time in the round.
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