Vergil Ortiz Jr. expect a “chess match” against Israil Madrimov in the 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-rounder on February 22 in Riyadh.

Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) will defend his WBC interim junior middleweight title that he was fortunate enough to capture in his last fight against Serhii Bohachuk against former WBA 154-pound champion Madrimov (10 -1-1, 7). KO).

Madrimov’s power against Ortiz Jr.’s pace

Former amateur star Madrimov has the skills and power advantage over Ortiz Jr., but he doesn’t possess the same punching ability or stamina. If Israil can’t throw more and fight harder in the later rounds, Vergil Jr. will achieve victory in this matchup.

As we saw in Madrimov’s recent loss to Terence Crawford, he uses too many feints and waits too long to land his shots. When Madrimov throws, it’s always just a punch. Not a combo punch. Feint for 30 seconds, then fire a single shot, then start again. That’s why he lost to Crawford, and that’s why he might lose to Vergil.

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

“I think there’s a lot of crap going on with people. “Oh, I see fear,” Vergil Jr. said when asked what he saw during his matchup with Israil Madrimov. “I’m just standing there looking at you because I have to . Do you know what I mean? I don’t see anything I just say, “That’s part of the job or whatever,” trying not to laugh. That’s what I’m thinking. Try not to laugh or anything. That’s being honest,” Ortiz Jr. said.

Recent controversies

Both fighters were in late matches that could easily have gone the other way with the tables turned. Madrimov outlasted 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 interim WBC 154-pound champion Bohachuk on August 10.

Ortiz Jr. he was dropped twice and appeared to lose six of the twelve rounds. Normally, this would mean a loss, but the judges gave it to Vergil, the A-side wrestler, and he is now the new interim WBC Champion. Obviously, it would have been better if Vergil had cleared up the controversy, but he chose not to. This doesn’t help his career because the fans see him as a tainted champion now.