Vergil Ortiz Jr. expect “chess match” against Israil Madrimov in title defense

Vergil Ortiz Jr. says he expects his fight against Israil Madrimov to be a “chess match” next month when they fight in a 12-round bout on February 22 in Riyadh.

Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) will defend his WBC interim junior middleweight title which he was lucky to take in his last fight against Serhii Bohachuk against former WBA 154-lb champion Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs).

Madrimov’s Power vs. Ortiz Jr.’s Pace

Former amateur star Madrimov has the skills and power advantage over Ortiz Jr., but he doesn’t have the same punch output or stamina. If Israil is unable to throw more and fight harder in the later rounds, Vergil Jr. will. after a victory in this game pass.

As we saw in Madrimov’s recent loss to Terence Crawford, he uses too many feints, and waits too long to throw his shots. When Madrimov does throw, it’s always just a single hit. He’s not a combo puncher. He pretends for 30 seconds, then throws a single shot and then starts over. That’s why he lost to Crawford, and why he can lose to Vergil.

“I can’t tell you how it will go. I think it’s going to be a chess game, but it’s going to be fun. It’s just going to be fun,” Vergil Ortiz Jr. said. told Queensberry Promotions. YouTube channel about his title defense against Israil Madrimov on February 22 in Riyadh.

“I think there is a lot of bull-s*** with people. “Oh, I see fear,” Vergil Jr. said. said when asked what he saw during his face with Israil Madrimov. “I’m just there watching you because I have to. Do you know what I mean? I don’t see anything. I’m just like, ‘It’s part of the job or whatever,’ and try not to laugh. That’s what I’m thinking about. Try not to laugh or anything. It’s just to be honest,” Ortiz Jr. said.

Recent controversies

Both fighters have been in recent matches that could have easily gone the other way with the tables turned. Madrimov knocked out Terence Crawford but was handed a questionable 12-round unanimous decision on August 3 last year. Vergil Jr. was very fortunate to win a 12-round majority decision over WBC interim 154-lb champion Bohachuk on August 10th.

Ortiz Jr. was dropped twice, and apparently lost six of the twelve rounds. Normally this would mean a loss, but the judges gave it to Vergil, the A-side fighter, and now he is the new WBC Interim Champion.

Of course it would have been better if Vergil had cleared up the controversy, but he chose not to. This doesn’t help his career as the fans now see him as a tainted partial champion. Turki Al-Sheikh must have insisted that Vergil Jr. giving Bohachuk a rematch before he could appear on more of his shows.