LAS VEGAS — Vergil Ortiz Jr. is just coming off a hard fight — easily the hardest fight of his career, given that Ortiz’s close win over Serhii Bohachuk was the first time that the junior middleweight contender had gone the distance.
The obvious question is what Ortiz will do next at 154, questions that were being asked even before Ortiz went to war with Bohachuk.
Ortiz’s trainer, Robert Garcia, has different priorities in mind for Ortiz first — and then a couple of names for him next.
“In the next few months I think he’s going to have to rest, enjoy his family, go back home and take some time off. He deserves it. He earned it. This was a brutal fight,” said Garcia, speaking to reporters on Saturday night. Ortiz and Bohachuk were not at the post-fight press conference, as they were asked by the Nevada State Athletic Commission to visit the hospital for precautionary scans.
Ortiz, who previously competed at junior welterweight and welterweight, moved up to junior middleweight earlier this year. After two bouts slightly over the limit, this was Ortiz’s first time making 154. The division is full of talent, and the name that keeps coming up over and over for Ortiz is Terence Crawford, who just topped Israil Madrimov earlier this month for the WBA world title.
Garcia praised Crawford as “a great fighter and pound for pound one of the best in the world.”
“That’s the fight that we’ll be after. That’s the fight that we would like, and hopefully Rick Mirigian [Ortiz’s manager], Golden Boy Promotions, Turki [Alalshikh, whose Riyadh Season has been bankrolling several major boxing matches of late], hopefully they put it together,” Garcia said. “Hopefully Crawford also is OK with the fight. I don’t know what his plans are. He’s chasing a Canelo fight. I don’t know if he’ll get that. He might get it. I don’t know. So we also have to see what the plans are for him.”
On Sunday morning, Mirigian posted on X that “all efforts will be made for Vergil Ortiz to fight Terence Crawford early next year.”
Before the Bohachuk bout, Golden Boy Promotions executives had also been mentioning Ortiz vs. Terence Crawford, as well as Tim Tszyu. And at Saturday’s post-event press conference, Bernard Hopkins of Golden Boy suggested a fight between Ortiz and another junior middleweight in their stable, Charles Conwell.
A second fight with Bohachuk is also merited, according to Garcia.
“The rematch is something we could also consider,” Garcia said. “It was a great fight. It was a very close fight. So definitely, if the offer’s there and Crawford’s not available, then why not rematch? Definitely Serhii deserves a rematch. He fought his ass off, too. He came in and surprised the world.”
Follow David Greisman on Twitter @FightingWords2. His book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
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