Vergil Ortiz Jr. feels right at home at 154 pounds as he takes on Serhii Bohachuk

LAS VEGAS – The drive for a world title belt motivates Vergil Ortiz Jr.

And so do words from naysayers and doubters.

Ortiz will challenge Serhii Bohachuk for the interim WBC world junior middleweight title (not recognized by The Ring) on Saturday night at the Michelob Ultra Arena inside the Mandalay Bay (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET/ 5 p.m. PT).

The 26-year-old Ortiz (21-0, 21 knockouts) returned to the ring on January 6 after 17 months out of the ring, stopping Fredrick Lawson in the opening round. Ortiz scored another opening round knockout win in his last bout on April 27, dropping Thomas Dulorme with a vicious left hook to the body.

Ortiz will face a fighter in Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs), who will be physically bigger than him and has won his last six fights since losing by knockout to Brandon Adams in March 2021. Bohachuk was well ahead on the scorecards at the time of the stoppage.

A compelling fight on paper, with a combined 44 knockouts in 45 victories, Ortiz understands the challenge in facing Bohachuk, but also what he brings to the table.

“He’s just a volume puncher,” Ortiz told The Ring in a recent interview. “He’s a pressure fighter. That’s pretty much it. I wouldn’t say there’s anything specific he does well (in the ring). He’s a volume puncher who is tough to wear down.”

Despite being the betting favorite going into the fight against Bohachuk, Ortiz has heard criticisms in recent months, from whether he has fully recovered from rhabdomyolysis and COVID-19, which sidelined him during 2022 and 2023, to not fighting down to the 154-pound limit. Ortiz weighed in at 156 pounds for the Lawson fight, and 155.5 pounds for the Dulorme fight.

Some wonder whether Bohachuk’s punching power may be too much for Ortiz to handle. Ortiz did cause rumblings on social media Thursday after refusing to shake Bohachuk’s hand after the facing off following the press conference. Ortiz stated on his social media accounts that it was nothing personal against Bohachuk, but that he refused to shake hands because of negative comments from a member of Bohachuk’s team.

Ortiz stated he is partly motivated to win Saturday because of the trash-talk against him and wants to make a statement at the expense of Bohachuk.

“It would mean a lot to me (to win Saturday) because I know a lot of people doubted me and, as much as I don’t like it, it’s motivation for me,” said Ortiz, who resides in Grand Prairie, Texas. “For sure, because I want to prove everyone wrong. I feel like I kind of feed off of it, in a way. I understand when people say when I fight in someone’s hometown and they boo you and that kind of gives you that energy. Because you’re not supposed to win. Then you say, oh yeah, I’m going to show you that I’m going to win.”

Before making the move to 154 pounds, Ortiz was one of the top fighters in the welterweight division, even earning a No. 1 ranking by the WBO and WBA. Some questioned whether Ortiz should have fought at a higher weight before, but he is glad to finally fight at a weight where he is comfortable at.

“I feel like we are fighting (at 154 pounds) at the right time of my career,” said Ortiz. “We knew the Michael McKinson fight (August 2022) was the last one for me (at 147 pounds). But when the (Eimantas) Stanionis fight came up, we went in there thinking we were going to fight (Stanionis that) December. I signed a contract enforcing my mandatory to fight in December of that year. December turned into March (Stanionis backed out due to removing his appendix). Camp had started in September or October. March became April. We were ready to fight him.

“It’s in the past now. I did what I could do there against whoever was available. We’re ready to take over the 154-pound division.”

Ortiz is in his second stint with trainer Robert Garcia. His father, Vergil Ortiz, Sr., has always been in his son’s corner. Prior to and sandwiched between Garcia’s stints as trainer, Ortiz was trained by Joel Diaz and Manny Robles, respectively.

Garcia has earned the reputation as being one of the best trainers in the sport. Last Saturday, Jose Valenzuela, who is also trained by Garcia, defeated Isaac Cruz to win the WBA world junior welterweight title.

Ortiz is grateful to have had great coaches in his corner, and considers Garcia an excellent asset to his career.

“It’s a combination of all three coaches. Robert, my Dad (Vergil Ortiz, Sr.), and Hector Beltran. They all have input when they see me do mitts. They watch each other do mitts with me. They give each other pointers about what to do. Someone outside could see something different. It’s a team effort. We’re ironing out literally everything. Punches, (what) we could add to them, watch out for other punches, ways to protect ourselves afterwards. It’s a combination of all three coaches.

“Robert has experience. He’s been a former world champion. He’s been on both sides of the game. He’s been a world champion and he’s trained world champions. He’s been (a) manager too. I can’t even call him a student of the sport. He’s probably a master. You could say he has like a Ph.D. It’s always valuable to have someone like him in my corner that has all that experience, inside the ring (and) outside the ring. The politics. Everything else. He’s a great addition to the team.”

Ortiz made his pro debut in July 2016. Since then, he has fought under the Golden Boy Promotions banner.

Eric Gomez, the President of Golden Boy Promotions, made it a point to sign Ortiz to a promotional deal.

Since then, Ortiz has excelled in the ring. Despite some obstacles, Ortiz has been able to overcome them and is on the cusp of becoming a superstar in the sport. He has been adamant about facing the best, including newly-crowned WBA world junior middleweight titleholder Israil Madrimov.

That could take place next year. For Saturday, he has a worthy adversary in Bohachuk. He hopes to make a name for himself at 154 pounds and dominate the division.

“It means a lot (to be signed by Golden Boy). I first met (Eric Gomez) at the 2015 (amateur) ‘Desert Showdown’ in Indio, California. I met him. I saw Golden Boy there. I was excited. At the same time, once you’re in the ring, you kind of forget about it. So I did my thing anyways. They saw what I can do, and they were more than happy with me. It really did mean a lot to me. It means even more now.”

“Both sides were loyal, we believed in each other and we know we’re destined for greatness with each other.”

 

Francisco A. Salazar has written for The Ring since October 2013 and has covered boxing in Southern California and abroad since 2000. Francisco also covers boxing for the Ventura County (California) Star newspaper. He can be reached at santio89@yahoo.com

Follow @FSalazarBoxing

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