Can Vergil Jr.’s power prevail against Madrimov’s skill?

Interim WBC junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. will face a very different test in his title defense against the technically skilled Israil Madrimov on February 22 in Riyadh. The fight will take place in 58 days.

The powerful Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs), 26 years old, defeated the powerful puncher. Serhii Bohachuk for a questionable 12-round majority decision in his last fight on August 10. Bohachuk knocked down Ortiz Jr. twice in the fight.

Vergil Jr. was outmatched by the more powerful Bohachuk throughout the fight, but scored a controversial decision by getting on his bike for the final four rounds to earn the victory.

Ortiz Jr. did not decide to give Bohachuk a rematch to clear up the controversy, which is understandable given the punishment he received in that fight. Bohachuk had beaten Vergil at his own game, outslugging him and forcing him to move in the final quarter of the contest.

Vergil Jr. vs. Bohachuk Punching Stats

– Ortiz Jr: 265 of 732 hits for 43%
– Bohachuk: 225 of 817 for 36%

Ortiz Jr. weakened under Bohachuk’s power, suffered a lot of facial damage, was injured in the subsequent rounds and was given time to repair his gloves. It seemed like he used that to recover.

It will be a different type of fight against Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs), who is faster, more technical and equally powerful than Bohachuk with his right hand. Vergil Jr’s best chance of winning this fight is with pressure because he doesn’t have the skills that Madrimov has going for him.

Former WBA junior middleweight champion Madrimov will likely be more aggressive than when he lost to Terence Crawford, but he won’t use the forward pressure that Bohachuk was showing. That’s not his style. However, Madrimov possesses the power and timing to hurt Ortiz Jr. if he tries to take him down like he has been doing with most of his opponents in his eight-year professional career.

Grudge match

Vergil Jr. and Madrimov have different views on how their matches went in the past. In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Madrimov, 29, said he didn’t do it “100%” during sparring and said Vergil Jr. was just a “normal” boxer.

Ortiz Jr. told Fight Hub TV on Madrimov’s comments: “He said, ‘He’s a normal boxer and we just went to play with him.’ “To me, that’s throwing shade.”

Madrimov: “There’s really nothing to say. We had a good fight. He’s athletic, he’s fast. I was helping him prepare for his fight at the time. We exchange experiences. I don’t know what else to tell you

Former amateur star Madrimov lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Terence Crawford in his last fight on August 3 in Los Angeles. The scores were 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113.

Many boxing fans later felt that Madrimov had come close to beating Crawford and would have won if the pressure had been turned up in the championship rounds. He made the 37-year-old Crawford look his age in that fight.