It’ll take place a bit later than expected, but Vergil Ortiz Jr is now officially set to take on Erickson Lubin on November 8th in Fort Worth, Texas.
Ortiz (23-0, 21 KO) spent a while pursuing a clash with newly crowned WBO champ Xander Zayas, but Zayas turned down a 50/50 split and demanded the bout take place in Puerto Rico, leading Ortiz to look elsewhere. After stopping his first 21 opponents, he’s taken back-to-back trips to the judges against division standouts Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov,
winning and defending the interim WBC title in the process.
That should have earned him a shot at Sebastian Fundora by now, but the WBC is the WBC.
“I’m always happy to be a part of the fights that fans want to see,” said Ortiz in a press release. “See you guys November 8!”
Speaking of earned shots, Lubin (27-2, 19 KO) set himself up for an IBF eliminator against Tim Tszyu with a bogus decision over Jesus Ramos in 2023, only to withdraw due to a hand injury. He went on to stop Ardreal Holmes in May after nearly two years out of action, but turned down champ Bakhram Murtazaliev in favor of facing Ortiz.
“I want to thank Golden Boy, PBC and ProBox for making this happen,” said Lubin. “I think the fans are in for a treat. This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, this fight is about redemption, I’m back for everything.”
Nothing yet as far as the undercard; we’ll keep you posted.
