Vergil Ortiz Jr. has Terence Crawford and inactive Errol Spence Jr. added among the names he may want to fight next, along with Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, following his second-round TKO victory over Erickson Lubin last Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas.
Crawford? Not a Chance
It’s a huge accomplishment on WBC interim junior middleweight champion Ortiz Jr. ‘s part to hope for a fight next against Crawford. Vergil’s opponent, Lubin (27-3, 19 KOs) looked so bad in the fight that it’s hard for fans to buy into the hype he’ll need to entice Bud to face him next.
Lubin, 30, looked awful, fighting with his back against the ropes, not throwing punches, and was blitzed by Ortiz Jr. (24-0, 22 KOs) was stopped in the second round. He appeared washed out. It wasn’t even a very competitive fight from the start as Erickson had nothing to offer in the fight.
A sleeping bag in Fort Worth
Lubin’s movements were labored, as if he were moving on stilts, speed nowhere to be found, and his decision-making was inept. Lubin repeatedly backed up against the ropes and scooped up, which slowed down Vergil Jr. allowed to unload body and head shots on him at will.
Even if he had something left, his decision making was terrible. It was the same thing we saw from Lubin in his losses to Jermell Charlo and Sebastian Fundora. Those are the only two notable names on Lubin’s 12-year professional resume, and he was knocked out in both fights.
Smoke, mirrors and marketing
This poor level of opposition reinforced the argument some fans have about Vergil Ortiz Jr. ‘s career as smoke and mirrors. This gives more weight to those who believe that Ortiz Jr. an artificially crafted fighter is, a fake, made to look good due to matchups against weak opposition. Golden Boy did choose Lubin-will and found the perfect opponent to beat Vergil Jr. to look like 24k gold.
A manufactured competitor
By choosing a faded Erickson Lubin over Bakhram Murtazaliev and ‘Boots’ Ennis, it gives fans the impression that Vergil’s career is a scam and he is not what he is made out to be. In Chris Williams’ expert eyes, from his many years of watching boxing, Vergil Jr. looks like a slightly bigger, slower version of Eimantas Stanionis. The only difference between them is that Stanionis is faster and slightly smaller.
Fighting Errol Spence wouldn’t fool anyone
If Vergil Jr. next instead of ‘Boots’ against 35-year-old Errol Spence Jr. (28-1, 22 KOs) fight, he will receive a lot of criticism from the boxing public. Spence turns 36 in March 2026 and has not fought in two years since his ninth-round knockout loss to Crawford on July 29, 2023. Moreover, Errol has not looked well since his horrific car accident on October 10, 2019 in Dallas, Texas. He has fought three times since that accident and has looked like a shell of himself in each one.
“I’m here to fight the best. I don’t care who it is. It could be ‘Boots’ next. It could be Spence next. It could be Crawford next if he’s still willing to do it. It’s a fight I called for. I think it’s a great fight to still happen,” Vergil Ortiz Jr. said. post-fight press conference last Saturday night, discussed his thoughts for his next fight after his second round TKO of Erickson Lubin.
Better options for Vergil Jr’s next fight
- Jaron Ennis
- Bakhram Murtazalev
- Brandon Adams
- Abass Baraou
- Israil Madrimov – *Healthy version
Last updated on 11/09/2025
