WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) dodged another bullet on Saturday, winning a 12-round unanimous decision victory over Israil Madrimov (10-2-1, 7 KOs) at The Venue in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Neither fighter was hurt, but Ortiz Jr. was badly swollen around his eyes by the end of the fight. He looked like he’d taken a beating from Madrimov. Madrimov used movement and power punching to outbox Vergil Jr. in the first six rounds. In the second half, he tired out, and Ortiz Jr. was able to come on and dominate the action in most of the rounds.
A Gift Decision?
The scores were 115-113, 115-113 and 117-111. Madrimov appeared to win 7-5. At worst, you could score it 6-6, but the judges gave Vergil Jr rounds based on pressure rather than punching.
“One reason why Madrimov did so well against Crawford is that Madrimov is that he does this [bounce around], and then he throws. So Vergil was timing him,” said promoter Oscar De La Hoya to iFL TV about his fighter Vergil Ortiz Jr. following his win over Israil Madrimov on Saturday night.
“The body shots worked, and the power. I think Madrimov couldn’t take the power. Vergil hits hard. I literally had it 8-4. It was a good win for Vergil. No, I didn’t see it at all,” said De La Hoya when asked if he felt that Ortiz Jr. seemed uncomfortable with Madrimov’s style early on.
“I didn’t see any impatience from Vergil. He was doing his job. He was actually hunting him down. I would have liked to have seen a little more head movement, but overall, I thought he did incredibly well. Madrimov was a beast.”
De La Hoya’s memory must be failing him. His fighter, Vergil Ortiz, was definitely struggling against Madrimov in the first half of their fight, and he was eating punches. Most of the damage to Ortiz Jr’s face occurred in the first six rounds, and he appeared to lost five of the rounds. The judges obviously gave Madrimov a raw deal, just like they did in his loss to Terence Crawford. Speaking about Crawford. De La Hoya says he thinks a fight between him and Vergil Jr. is possible. I don’t see it, but the tooth fairy will grant that wish.
The Crawford Pipe Dream
“It’s very possible. Now that [Turki Alalshikh] is in the picture and DAZN, the skies are the limit for these types of fights,” said De La Hoya when asked how possible it is to make a fight between Ortiz Jr. and Terence Crawford. “They’re easier to make. They’re fights that can be made. I believe this fight can be made without a hitch,” said Oscar.
Crawford is NOT going to want to fight Ortiz Jr. and take a gigantic pay cut after he gets a bunch of loot in his fight against Canelo Alvarez. If Turki Alalshikh doesn’t offer him a winnable fight for similar money, he’ll likely retire. He’s not going to fight anyone for less dough and one that he doesn’t think he can win. In other words, Crawford won’t fight guys like Bakhram Murtazaliev, David Benavidez, David Morrell, and likely not even Vergil Jr.
