Pick it: Vergil Ortiz Jnr vs. Erickson Lubin

When to Watch: The main broadcast will air on Saturday, November 8 at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. GMT).

How to watch: DAZN for the main broadcast; Golden Boy Promotions’ YouTube page for the preliminary undercard.

Why to Watch: Because this should be a damn good fight. And because it should set up even bigger battles down the line.

Vergil Ortiz Jnr and Erickson Lubin are two junior middleweight contenders – Ortiz representing the new generation at 154lbs while Lubin has carried over from the preceding era. 

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 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth. 

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. 

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.

The winner will move forward in a weight class that also 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.

Saturday’s 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).

More Fights to Watch

Friday, November 7: Nicklaus Flaz vs. Delante “Tiger” Johnson (ProBox)

The broadcast begins at 6 p.m. Eastern Time (11 p.m. GMT).

Flaz, 15-2 (10 KOs), is a 29-year-old welterweight from Puerto Rico. He spent two years out of the ring after getting blown out in the first round against Janelson Bocachica in October 2020. Since returning, he’s won six in a row and beaten the likes of the 13-0 Brian Ceballo and the 10-0 Jahi Tucker, both by majority decision, and is coming off a fourth-round stoppage win against the 24-6-1 Alan Sanchez in May. Flaz is ranked 10th by the IBF and 11th by the WBO.

Johnson, 16-0 (7 KOs), is a 27-year-old from Cleveland, Ohio, who is unranked at 147lbs. He comes in with a good amateur pedigree, having competed in the Olympics in 2021, making it to the quarterfinals of the welterweight tournament. Johnson lost to Roniel Iglesias, who went on to capture the gold medal. As a pro, Johnson has been stepping up his level of opposition in recent outings. He outpointed the 22-2-1 Yomar Alamo in September 2024, took out the 21-8 Kendo Castaneda in five rounds in March, and won a unanimous decision against the aforementioned Bocachica in June.

Among the other fights scheduled for this show are a bantamweight bout between Katsuma Akitsugi, 13-0 (3 KOs), and former title challenger Vincent Astrolabio, 20-5 (15 KOs); a clash between junior lightweights Tsendbaatar Erdenebat, 13-0 (6 KOs), and Brandon Leon Benitez, 21-4 (9 KOs); and a junior lightweight bout pitting Dominic Valle, 11-0 (7 KOs), against Miguel Angel Torres Nunez, 15-2 (9 KOs).

(Note: ProBox TV and BoxingScene are both owned by Garry Jonas.)

Friday, November 7: Qamil Balla vs. Sergei Vorobev (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 3 a.m. Eastern Time (8 a.m. GMT).

Balla, 16-2-1 (9 KOs), is a 36-year-old from Altona North, Australia, about half an hour from where this show is taking place at the Hyatt Place Event Centre in Melbourne. 

Balla has fought at lightweight, junior welterweight, welterweight and now is participating in his second contest at junior middleweight. Both of his defeats seem to have inspired moves up in weight. Balla lost a decision to George Kambosos Jnr in 2017 and subsequently moved up to 140lbs. And he was stopped in the seventh round by Jin Sasaki in September 2024 and left 147lbs behind. In his last outing, Balla won a fourth-round TKO against the 26-5 Adones Cabalquinto in June.

Vorobev, 21-3-2 (15 KOs), is a 31-year-old who lives in Sydney, Australia. His first loss was a split decision against Karen Chukhadzhian in 2020. Vorobev rebounded with 10 wins in a row before suffering an upset loss on the scorecards to the 21-11 Wade Ryan in 2023. He’s gone 2-1-2 since then. In Vorobev’s two appearances in 2025, he was stopped in the fifth round by middleweight prospect Cesar Mateo Tapia in March and then had a 99-second victory over a designated opponent in September.

Friday, November 7: Justin Figueroa vs. Jose Perdomo (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 8 p.m. Eastern Time (1 a.m. GMT).

Figueroa, 13-0 (10 KOs), is a 26-year-old junior middleweight from Atlantic City, New Jersey, where he’ll be headlining at the Tropicana Atlantic City. This is his third fight of the year. In March, he defeated a 10-3-1 foe via second-round TKO. And in August, Figueroa outpointed a 9-5 opponent.

Perdomo, 9-7 (5 KOs), is a 31-year-old from Uruguay. He lost five in a row from 2024 into 2025 but has steadied himself with three consecutive victories. While two of those wins came against foes with records of 4-25 and 15-19-2, there was also a second-round stoppage of the 12-0 Micky Scala in September.

The co-feature pits heavyweight Otto Wallin, 27-3 (15 KOs), against Chris Thomas, 15-2-2 (10 KOs). Wallin is coming off a decision loss to Derek Chisora in February. Thomas, who spent much of his career between middleweight and light heavyweight, was taken out by Gurgen Hovhannisyan in three rounds in July.

A handful of prospects are scheduled for the undercard, including super middleweight Nathan Lugo, 5-0 (5 KOs); middleweight Elijah Lugo, 3-0 (1 KO); heavyweight Bruce Seldon Jnr, 7-0 (6 KOs); and light heavyweight Antwan Jones, 18-0 (10 KOs). 

Saturday, November 8: “The Heist” super middleweight tournament (DAZN)

The broadcast begins at 2 p.m. Eastern Time (7 p.m. GMT).

This is a one-day tournament at Connexin Live Hull in Hull, England. The winner will receive a prize of 25,000 GBP.

The eight super middleweight contestants are Germaine Brown, 14-3 (5 KOs); Haaris Khan, 7-0 (1 KO); Ryszard Lewicki, 10-1-3 (4 KOs); Taz Nadeem, 7-0 (4 KOs); Liam O’Hare, 13-1 (4 KOs); James Osborne, 10-1 (2 KOs); SA Smith, 5-1-1 (1 KO); and Ellis Steward, 12-0 (2 KOs).

Saturday, November 8: Teo Alin vs. Lee Gormley (Triller)

The broadcast begins at 1 p.m. Eastern Time (6 p.m. GMT).

Alin, 5-0 (1 KO), is a 29-year-old junior lightweight who lives in Cookstown, Northern Ireland, about an hour from this show at the Devenish Complex in Belfast. Alin’s five wins have come against foes with a combined record of 36-134-12.

Gormley, 6-1 (1 KO), has also never before faced an opponent with more wins than losses. The 33-year-old, who lives in Bolton, England, has faced opposition with a combined slate of 15-466-3. Gormley’s sole defeat came in his third pro bout, a narrow points loss in 2023 to the 5-27-1 Karl Sampson, whose record these days is 9-61-1 (1 KO).

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.