When is Vergil Ortiz vs. Erickson Lubin?

Vergil Ortiz vs. Erickson Lubin is on Saturday, November 8. The main broadcast will begin at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. GMT). The start time for the preliminary undercard has not yet been announced.

Vergil Ortiz vs. Erickson Lubin will stream on DAZN. The preliminary undercard will be on Golden Boy Promotions’ YouTube page.

Where is Vergil Ortiz vs. Erickson Lubin?

The fight is taking place at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Who is Vergil Ortiz?

Ortiz, 23-0 (21 KOs), is a top contender in a packed junior middleweight division. This will be the fifth fight at or around 154lbs for the 27-year-old from Grand Prairie, Texas, not far from where this fight is being held. 

Ortiz’s past two victories over Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov are his most notable. Ortiz and Bohachuk waged war in one of the best battles of 2024, headlining a summer show in Las Vegas where it was well over 100 degrees outside – and things got even more heated in the ring. Ortiz visited the canvas twice but also had moments of his own in an exceedingly close contest, one that the judges awarded to him via narrow majority decision. That win earned Ortiz the WBC’s interim belt at 154lbs. This past February, Ortiz took a unanimous decision over Israil Madrimov, a former titleholder who was coming off a competitive loss to Terence Crawford.

Ortiz is at last on the verge after showing a lot of promise as a young welterweight. His time at 147lbs saw him beset by health issues. He was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, in which muscle tissue breaks down, enters the bloodstream and threatens the kidneys. Ortiz was off for nearly 12 months between his August 2021 win over Egidijus Kavaliauskas and a rescheduled August 2022 fight with Michael McKinson. 

One fight that would have moved Ortiz’s career forward at the time, with fellow contender Eimantas Stanionis, never took place. The Stanionis match was postponed twice – first when Stanionis had to have his appendix removed, then when Ortiz’s rhabdomyolysis returned – before being called off altogether when Ortiz fainted from dehydration just three days ahead of the scheduled bout. 

A clash between Ortiz and the other welterweight hyped as the future of the division, Jaron “Boots” Ennis, didn’t happen back then. Now they are both at 154lbs. That’s just one of several enticing options – if Ortiz can get by Lubin in impressive fashion. 

Who is Erickson Lubin?

Lubin, 27-2 (19 KOs), had plenty of hype when he turned pro at 18 years old in 2013. And he remained a top prospect when he challenged Jermell Charlo for a world title at 154lbs in 2017. Unfortunately for Lubin, he was knocked out by Charlo in the first round. 

That could have let all of the air out of the balloon. But Lubin was just 22 years old. Charlo would go on to become the undisputed junior middleweight champion. Lubin had time to rebuild – and plenty of reason to still believe he could compete within the top tiers of this division.

He put together a six-fight win streak, including victories over Terrell Gausha and former unified titleholder Jeison Rosario. That landed Lubin a fight with Sebastian Fundora in 2022 for the WBC’s interim belt. They dragged each other into a war, dropped each other once apiece, and Lubin was slightly ahead on the scorecards when his concerned trainer stopped the fight after the ninth round. 

Another setback. And again, another reason not to write Lubin off just yet.

Since then, Lubin had notched three consecutive victories: a fifth-round TKO of Luis Arias in June 2023, a controversial decision over Jesus Ramos Jnr that September and, after more than 19 months away, an 11th-round stoppage of the previously unbeaten Ardreal Holmes Jnr this past May.

Lubin, a 30-year-old from Kissimmee, Florida, is ranked third by the WBO and fourth by the WBC. He’s facing a very tough out in Ortiz. Lubin hasn’t shied away from challenges. But another loss could consign him to always being the challenger, the bridesmaid who can’t quite make it all the way to the altar.

What’s at stake in Vergil Ortiz vs. Erickson Lubin?

Aside from Ortiz’s interim title, the winner should be in position for even bigger battles down the line.

The junior middleweight division features the likes of titleholders Abass Baraou (WBA), Fundora (WBC), Bakhram Murtazaliev (IBF) and Xander Zayas (WBO); fellow contenders Brandon Adams, Bohachuk, Ennis, Andreas Katzourakis, Josh Kelly, Madrimov, Jorge Garcia Perez, Ramos, and Keith Thurman; and an array of prospects including Caoimhin Agyarko, Nikita Tszyu and Callum Walsh.

What other fights are on the undercard of Vergil Ortiz vs. Erickson Lubin?

The undercard includes super middleweight Darius Fulghum, 14-1 (12 KOs), returning from his narrow decision loss in May to Bektemir Melikuziev. Fulghum will face David Stevens, 15-2 (10 KOs), who lost a split decision to Melikuziev a year ago and then outpointed the 13-0 Petr Khamukov in June.

Also scheduled for the main broadcast: middleweight prospect Amari Jones, 14-0 (12 KOs), will face Shady Gamhour, 14-2 (9 KOs); heavyweight Joshua Edwards, 4-0 (4 KOs), who competed in the 2024 Olympics, will take on Zeno Vooris, 5-1 (5 KOs); and in a bout between unbeaten cruiserweights, Robin Sirwan Safar, 18-0 (13 KOs), will stand in with Derick Miller Jnr, 18-0 (10 KOs).

A handful of prospects will be featured on the preliminary undercard, which is headed by middleweight Eric Priest, 16-0 (8 KOs), taking on Esneiker Correa, 16-6-2 (14 KOs).

The full list of undercard fights can be seen on BoxRec.

David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.