Erickson Lubin says he feels overlooked in the promotion of his headline fight against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on November 8 at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. The two are headliners on DAZN.
Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) still feels slighted about artwork because his promotional poster leaves him in the dark. He says that Ortiz Jr “is not only placed higher, but also takes up more space,” which makes him look “a kind of moon hanging over me.”
Fuel for November 8th
At the kickoff conference on September 23, 2025, Erickson showed his anger at the disrespect shown to him by tearing up the poster in front of the media.
It’s clear who the A-side and B-side are for this promotion by looking at the poster. Ortiz’s name comes first. This is another sign that he is the most important one in this promotion.
“With the whole promo and the whole poster,” Erickson Lubin said Golden Boy Boxing about feeling overlooked by fans for his fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. on November 8.
“It just fuels my fire. I’ve been one of the top guys since the amateurs. With people looking out for me, it brings that fire back in me,” Lubin said.
Erickson will have to hold his own under the pressure, and the constant bombardment he faced against Ortiz Jr. will last. If he stands and fights like he did against Sebastian Fundora in his ninth-round stoppage loss on April 9, 2022, it’s going to be hard for him to handle the pace.
On the other hand, if Erickson moves like he did against Jesus Ramos Jr. did in 2023, there are no guarantees that the judges will give him the decision.
“I couldn’t fight Crawford or Spence,” Vergil Jr. said.
Ortiz’s weight war almost broke him
It’s not entirely Terence Crawford and Errol Spence’s fault that they didn’t fight Ortiz Jr. He already had trouble making weight for the 147-lb division, requiring hospitalizations due to the stress placed on his body.
Vergil Jr. was a classic example of what can happen to a fighter if they compete outside of a weight class that is way below their frame. Ortiz Jr. should have fought three years ago in 2022 at 154. At the time, Crawford and Spence were still at 147, and they didn’t fight each other.
“I don’t think he’s looking at me. He knows where I’m coming from,” Lubin said of Ortiz Jr.
Madrimov and Bohachuk took pieces
Fans on social media, oddsmakers and the media may count Erickson out, but Ortiz Jr. do not assume that victory is in the bag. He takes him seriously as a threat. He has to after the grueling fights he had recently against Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk.
We still don’t know how much those fights took out of Vergil Jr. Although he is three years younger than the 30-year-old Lubin, we don’t know how much he has left.
Vergil was outworked by Madrimov and Bohachuk through the first eight rounds in both of those fights. He was on deck twice against Bohachuk, and had the stuffing beaten out of him by Madrimov until he gassed late.
Lubin rebounded from his ninth-round stoppage loss to Sebastian Fundora from 2022 to win his last three fights against Luis Arias, Jesus Ramos Jr. and Ardreal Holmes Jr.
Since 2014, Olly Campbell has brought readers clear ringside perspective and a solid voice on boxing’s biggest nights.
Last updated on 21/10/2025
