De La Hoya: Ortiz Jr. he will steal the show against Madrimov

Oscar De La Hoya predicts his fighter, interim WBC Junior Middleweight Champion Vergil Ortiz Jr, will “steal the show” on the February 22 card by defeating ‘Little GGG’ Israil Madrimov in Riyadh.

De La Hoya believes Vergil Jr’s ring smarts will allow him to deal with the power of former WBA 154-pound champion Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) in their fight at the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 card.

Will Ortiz Jr. steal the show?

Oscar says this is a tough fight because Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) is coming off his grueling battle against Serhii Bohachuk on August 10th. Vergil Jr, 26, was dumped twice in that fight, he landed a lot of hard punches and was lucky to win.

The punishment that Bohachuk’s last opponent, Ishmael Davis, took against him Saturday night in Riyadh was nothing compared to what Ortiz Jr. absorbed. last august That’s why there are question marks over whether Vergil Jr. may stand up to Madrimov’s power on February 22.

While he’s had time to recover from the beating he took from Bohachuk, it might not be enough to deal with a guy who hits just as hard, if not harder, against ‘Little GGG’. This is not a fight in which Vergil Jr. can count on the win by submitting Madrimov as he did against Bohachuk in the last three rounds to get the win.

‘Little GGG’: the power of Madrimov

“In terms of style, it’s a tough fight. Vergil is coming off a tremendous win against (Serhii) Bohachuk,” Oscar De La Hoya told Fight Hub TVtalking about Vergil Ortiz Jr. defending his interim WBC junior middleweight title against Israil Madrimov next month on February 22 in Riyadh.

“So, almost similar styles in a way. Madrimov has a better boxing IQ, but he hits hard like a mule (kicks), and he comes forward. It’s going to be a very entertaining fight. Vergil Ortiz is going to steal the show that one night

“Vergil Ortiz is a very intelligent fighter. He knows exactly what to do in the ring. I’m sure he studies his opponents. His cornerman and his team study his opponents to make sure Vergil is in optimal condition,” said Oscar.

Madrimov is a completely different style than Bohachuk, and it’s nowhere near the same. De La Hoya was wrong, thinking they have similar styles.

Bohachuk is a relentless, high-volume puncher who just keeps throwing. In contrast, Madrimov is an underachieving boxer with great power. Their similarities lie in their excellent striking power.Madrimov has better hand speed than Bohachuk, but not by much.

Madrimov lost his last fight to Terence Crawford by a 12-round unanimous decision on August 3rd in Los Angeles. It was a win for Madrimov in the last four rounds, but he let Crawford take the win by outpointing him.

He showed too much respect for Crawford and didn’t attack him as relentlessly as he should have. If you could have transplanted Bohachuk’s aggressive style onto Madrimov in these last four rounds, he probably would have knocked Crawford out or at the very least put him on the run.

bouncing

Vergil Jr. he had massive trouble against Bohachuk, falling in the first and eighth rounds. Ortiz Jr’s 12-round majority decision win on August 10 was controversial and hurt his popularity. What made matters worse was not giving Bohachuk a rematch. This solidified the opinion of the fans that Ortiz Jr. he knew he had lost and didn’t want to fight Serhii again, for fear the judges would get it right this time.

“Vergil is a very intelligent young man who knows how to take care of business. He knows how to adjust. I think those adjustments in the first quarter of the fight and the first half of the fight are going to be very important,” De La Hoya said.