Sometimes, boxing can be a crapshoot.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. ostensibly checked all the boxes. He was big, strong, didn’t play around with his food, and got all of his opponents out of there before the sound of the final bell. His placement amongst the rest of his welterweight peers was unambiguous.
Terence Crawford, the division’s top dog, notices everything, including Ortiz. At one point, a matchup between them seemed like a virtual guarantee. But, life isn’t fair, especially in the world of boxing.
With Ortiz struggling with his health and weight, he reluctantly decided to move up. He’ll officially make his junior middleweight debut against Fredrick Lawson this weekend in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Ortiz knows that he’s expected to win and look good while doing so. But while he’s doing his best to keep both eyes on Lawson, in the back of his mind, he still thinks about Crawford. Although they no longer compete in the same weight class, that doesn’t mean a matchup between them can no longer take place.
“That fight can still happen,” Ortiz told 210 Boxing TV. “That’s an exciting fight.”
Currently, Crawford is somewhere in Omaha, Nebraska, with his feet kicked up and looking back on his 2023. All of the talk surrounding his resume was put on ice the moment he stopped Errol Spence Jr. to become an undisputed champion.
Now, with the 36-year-old solidifying himself as the man to beat at 147 pounds, he’s openly flirted with the idea of moving up in weight. That decision, of course, will be made over time but for now, Crawford is enjoying the superlatives being hurled in his direction.
Ortiz isn’t easily impressed. He also believes that the word great is thrown around too loosely. Crawford though, deserves to be placed in that category.
“He’s one of the top three active fighters right now. He’s a great fighter.”