Vergil Ortiz Jnr wants to become a ‘throwback fighter’ against Israil Madrimov

Vergil Ortiz Jnr faces, on paper, the toughest test of his professional career Saturday in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Ortiz will defend his WBC interim junior middleweight title against former titleholder Israil Madrimov at the Kingdom Arena. Ortiz is coming off a close win over one of the junior middleweight division’s most avoided fighters, Serhii Bohachuk. Ortiz was then in discussions to welcome welterweight titleholder Jaron “Boots” Ennis to the 154lb division as part of Saturday’s event, but Ennis decided to take another route. Ortiz then quickly agreed to face Madrimov, who recently lost a razor-close decision to one of the best pound-for-pound fighters on the planet in Terence Crawford.

Ortiz’s attitude is refreshing. Getting most of the sport’s young stars to take a risky fight in today’s current climate is nearly impossible. Ortiz cares about the legacy he will leave behind after he hangs up the gloves and wants to be remembered as a fighter who took on the biggest and baddest challengers. He spoke to BoxingScene about why he has taken such a different approach.

“I mean, where do I get it from? I’m just a very competitive person by nature,” Ortiz said. “You know, we’ve been asking for a lot of these big fights, and sometimes I’ll get criticism that I’m not fighting anyone – but it’s because I wasn’t getting the fights.

“You know, there have been many times where I could fight someone, hypothetically, like Keith Thurman. We were going to fight him at one point, but it just didn’t happen. So, of course, I get bummed out because I’m thinking, I’m not getting my shot, but these opportunities are coming at me, so I’m going to take every single one that I can. And like I said, I just want to fight the best. I want to prove that I’m the best, and I want to win.”

Heading into his clash with Madrimov, Ortiz feels like he still has things to prove.

“Yeah, you know, there’s still some doubt, I guess, in terms of me coming back from my illness this year, or whatever,” he said. “But, you know what, I feel like I proved it by going 12 rounds with someone like Bohachuk. Not only that, but to prove that I’ll fight anybody. You know, we had a lot of other fights lined up for this one, and some of them got approved, and they were all good fighters as well. I just want to show everyone that I’m here to fight the best. I want to be like the good old days where you go on HBO, and I just want to be one of those legendary fighters that people go back and see 10 years from now.”

Saturday’s bout, however, won’t be the first time Ortiz and Madrimov have squared off in the ring.

“So this was for the [Egidijus] Kavalauskas fight in 2021, at the summit – I sparred with Madrimov,” Ortiz recalled. “I also sparred with [Subriel] Matias. And the sparring sessions were really good. I feel like we both kind of learned a lot from each other. We have never been in a ring with each other before or after that. But just based off those sparring sessions, I think that this is going to be a good fight.”

Madrimov staked a claim as one of the best fighters in the 154lb division with his performance against Crawford. Then-WBA titleholder Madrimov took the undefeated Crawford to the wire, and many believed the Uzbek had done enough to ensure victory, though Crawford was awarded a narrow unanimous decision.

“I thought he did really good, if I’m being honest,” Ortiz said of Madrimov’s performance. “He did really well. And I’m going to be honest, he did a lot better than I thought he was going to do. And did I think he deserved the win? I mean, I think Crawford got the best out of him, but I don’t think he should be ashamed of it because that was a really good fight.”

The junior middleweight division is seen as one of the best in the current boxing climate. The three titlists could all be considered the best after their recent performances. WBA belt holder Crawford for becoming a four-weight champion against Madrimov. Sebastian Fundora for claiming the WBC and WBO titles against Tim Tszyu. And Bakhram Murtazaliev, the IBF belt holder, with his emphatic stoppage of Tszyu.

Victory on Saturday would secure Ortiz a shot at a world title. He was asked which among that group he would favor as an opponent, should he be successful on the weekend.

“My No. 1 pick would be Crawford, but I think he only has one more fight left – and that’s the Canelo [Alvarez] fight – and then he’s done,” Ortiz said. “So then I would have to say Fundora or Murtazaliev. I mean, it’s either one of them. But honestly, I really don’t care. I think the one that could have been the most likely is Fundora, because I have the interim with the WBC. But in fact, Murtazaliev, I welcome that fight, too. I think he’s a strong, great little fighter and I welcome the opportunity.”