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

Oscar De La Hoya predicts his fighter, WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr, will “steal the show” on the February 22 card with a victory over ‘Little GGG’ Israil Madrimov in Riyadh.

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

Will Ortiz Jr. steal the show?

Oscar says this is a tough fight for Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KO) following his grueling battle against Serhii Bohachuk on August 10th. Vergil Jr, 26, was struck out twice in that fight he received many heavy blows and was lucky to win.

The punishment Bohachuk’s last opponent, Ishmael Davis, took against him last Saturday night in Riyadh was nothing compared to what Ortiz Jr. took. received last August. That’s why there are questions whether Vergil Jr. can resist the power of the Madrimov on February 22.

While he’s had time to recover from the beating he took from Bohachuk, he may not be able to handle a guy who hits just as hard, if not harder, against ‘Little GGG’. This is not a fight where Vergil Jr. he can count on outboxing Madrimov the way he did against Bohachuk in the last three rounds to pull out the victory.

‘Little GGG’: Madrimov’s power

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

“So almost similar styles in a way. Madrimov has a better boxing IQ, but he punches as hard as a mule (kicks), and comes forward. It will be a very entertaining fight. Vergil Ortiz will steal the show that night.

“Vergil Ortiz is a very smart fighter. He knows exactly what to do inside the ring. I’m sure he studies his opponents. “His corner and team are studying their opponents to make sure Vergil is in optimal conditions,” said Oscar.

Madrim’s style is completely different from Bohačuk’s and it is not even close to the same. De La Hoya was mistaken in thinking they had similar styles.

Bohachuk is a relentless, powerful puncher who never stops throwing. In contrast, Madrimov is a low power, high power boxer. Their similarities lie in their excellent punching power. Madrimov has better hand speed than Bohachuk, but not by much.

Madrimov lost his last fight to Terence Crawford by a close 12-round decision on August 3rd in Los Angeles. Madrimov could have won the last four rounds, but he let Crawford take the win by outplaying him.

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

Bouncing

Vergil Jr. had big problems against Bohachuk, he was knocked out 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 it worse was that Bohačuk was not given a rematch. This cemented the opinion of fans that Ortiz Jr. knew he lost and didn’t want to fight Serhii again, fearing the judges would correct him this time.

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