Beyond the predicted outcome, Vergil Ortiz Jnr and Erickson Lubin pretty much agreed on all aspects of their upcoming showdown.
Even the nature of the one-sided marketing.
The visiting Lubin took exception to a promotional fight poster bearing only Ortiz’s liking ahead of their anticipated November 8 WBC interim 154lbs title fight. The two will meet atop a DAZN show from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, mere miles from Ortiz’s hometown of Grand Prairie, Texas.
Lubin – the visiting southpaw from Orlando, Florida – expected Ortiz to get the local edge but wasn’t keen on his likeness not appearing anywhere on the piece of promo material in his possession. As much was expressed when he ripped it in half while sharing his final thoughts.
“I do want to say this poster is a little disrespectful to me and my team,” Lubin said during a kickoff press conference Tuesday at Texas Live! in nearby Arlington, Texas. “They got me somewhere in the dark somewhere. They have Vergil as something like the moon, all over me and stuff like that.
“This is disrespectful, I don’t like it. This is disrespectful to me and my brand.”
To their credit, Ortiz and Golden Boy Promotions’ chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya both sympathized with Lubin’s discomfort.
“I didn’t make the poster,” Ortiz quipped in return, a sentiment echoed by his Hall of Fame promoter.
As for the fight, Ortiz, 23-0 (21KOs) and Lubin, 27-2 (19 KOs) seemed just as excited as everyone else about the forthcoming pairing.
Ortiz will attempt the second defense of the interim title he has held for more than a year. The primary WBC 154lbs beltholder is Sebastian Fundora, who next defends against Keith Thurman on October 25 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
While not mentioning the 6’5 ½” southpaw by name, De La Hoya insisted that Fundora was among a slew of top fighters in the division who wanted no part of Ortiz.
“I want to start by saying, every world champion at 154 pounds did not want to fight Vergil Ortiz,” said De La Hoya, sporting all black while on stage to hype up the event. “They came up with excuses. – ‘I’m not ready I need a tune-up, I want to fight someone else.’
“This is the fight game. You want to be the best you have to fight the best.”
There are several ironic takes to De La Hoya’s strong claims.
For starters, Golden Boy proudly promotes undisputed flyweight champion Gabriela Fundora, who is fresh off a knockout victory over the weekend in Indio, California. She is the younger sister to Sebastian, who was on hand for the event as is the case for the entire family – their father, Freddy, trains both – whenever either are in the ring.
The other twist of fate that led to this fight being finalized was the one that Lubin stepped down from to move forward with this event.
Lubin previously secured his place as the mandatory challenger to unbeaten IBF titlist Bakhram Murtazaliev. Their ordered title fight was due to head to a purse bid hearing, when Lubin – who is represented by ProBox TV founder Garry Jonas (who also owns BoxingScene) – and his team opted out of the matchup once he was offered a more lucrative opportunity to face Ortiz.
“This is why I respect Erickson Lubin so much,” noted De La Hoya. “Not only is he the number one contender in the world. He’s fought [Jermell] Charlo, he’s fought the tough fights. He has the experience and he has the confidence. That’s a real fight.
“A lot is at stake. He wants to win, Vergil wants to be a unified world champion. Lubin wants to be champion.”
Lubin has won three straight and nine of his last ten starts since an October 2017 knockout loss to Jermell Charlo in a WBC 154lbs title bid. His lone defeat since then came to Fundora, against whom he was stopped after nine rounds in their 2022 Fight of the Year entrant.
An eleventh-round knockout of unbeaten Ardreal Holmes this past May positioned Lubin for another title shot. Rather than the unbeaten Murtazaliev, however, it’s the higher-profile Ortiz whose career he intends to derail.
“I fought for the world title in just my (fifth) year. This is my 12th year as a pro,” noted Lubin, who turns 30 in October. “I took no steps back. I fought top opposition after top opposition and Vergil Ortiz is no different. He’s another top fighter. This is my third undefeated fighter in a row, and I’m looking to become that dude at 154 pounds.
“I want to give a big shoutout to Gary Jonas. You know, that’s one guy that believed in me from the beginning. I’ve been with him since I was 17 years old, and I turn 30 next week. I’m just excited. Vergil Ortiz is a great competitor, and I think the fans are in for a treat.”
Tuesday’s press conference happened to coincide with his daughter Malachai’s fourth birthday.
“You know, it’s the sacrifices you’ve gotta make,” Lubin said of the boxing grind. “Being away from family, being away from their birthdays and stuff like that, just so I can give them a better way of living.”
While Lubin fights for his family and career redemption, Ortiz aims to carry a city on his back.
The unbeaten Texan saw his perfect knockout-to-win run end last summer in a majority decision win over Serhii Bohachuk for the secondary version of the WBC title. Ortiz survived two knockdowns to prevail in their Fight of the Year-level slugfest in Las Vegas, Nevada.
In his most recent start, Ortiz once again went the 12-round distance. This time it came in a more convincing victory as he outpointed former WBA titlist Israil Madrimov in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
A minor hand injury left Ortiz out of the ring longer than desired but also provided the avenue to return home. This will mark his first fight in Texas since an 9th round knockout of unbeaten Michael McKinson in August 2022 at the very venue that will host this event.
It was his third straight fight at home, a run that included stoppages over Egidijus Kavaliauskas in nearby Frisco and former 140lbs titlist Maurice Hooker also at Dickies Arena.
The expectation for this return is his biggest crowd yet.
“It’s going to be electric,” vowed Ortiz. “Everyone in the DFW (Dallas-Fort Worth) - Grand Prairie, Fort Worth, Dallas, wherever they’re from – they always show out. There’s a big fan base here for boxing. I know all the fans here are going to enjoy it on November 8.”
A lot is at stake for Ortiz, whose name is attached to very big matchups in 2026.
He and WBO titleholder Xander Zayas have circled one another, with the unbeaten Puerto Rican actually the top priority for this fight. Zayas and his team opted instead for a homecoming of his own in, with plans for a title defense to take place in Puerto Rico early next year.
Meanwhile, a potential superfight looms with Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
The unbeaten former lineal and unified welterweight champ makes his 154lbs debut on October 11 in his hometown of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The claim from his side is that he and promoter Matchroom Boxing have already agreed to next face Ortiz, though the framework on the other side still needs to be discussed.
There is also the matter of upgrading his current title.
Ortiz’s clash with Lubin takes place three weeks before this year’s annual WBC convention. It is wholly expected that the sanctioning body will order a title consolidation bout between the respective winners of Fundora-Thurman and Ortiz-Lubin.
Needless to say, a lot is riding on a win in November. Ortiz has never been more confident, though mainly out of the high regard in which he holds Lubin – which, in turn, has prompted a heightened commitment to leave no stone unturned in training camp.
“I’m very motivated. I want to win. I want to win looking good,” insisted Ortiz. “Just being in the ring with someone with the pedigree like Erickson Lubin, it motivates me to train harder, to actually want to come to the gym.
“I’ve been in some fights where I’m fighting someone and I’m like, “Let’s just get this thing over with.” This fight, I look forward to the gym; I want to work hard; I want to do good in sparring. So that is the kind of fight this is.”
