Vergil Ortiz Jnr vs. Erickson Lubin live blog replay

Vergil Ortiz Jnr returned to the knockout column in a big way. The unbeaten WBC interim 154lbs titlist made quick work of Erickson Lubin, whom he stopped in the 2nd round. 

A barrage of punches along the ropes forced referee James Green to halt the contest at 1:30 of round two.

The quick hit come just four weeks after Jaron "Boots" Ennis blasted out Uisma Lima in the 1st round of their October 11 WBA interim 154lbs title fight in his hometown of Philadelphia. 

Naturally, the immediate demand now shifts to a mouthwatering Ortiz-Ennis clash, which the Ennis side insists they absolutely want next and early in 2026. 

It didn't take long for Vergil Ortiz Jnr to make the ring a very small place for Erickson Lubin. Action was tight and competitive early before Ortiz cut off the ring and consistently drove Lubin to the ropes. As effective as was Ortiz's approach, head trainer Robert Garcia still called for his fighter to calm his heart rate. 

Erickson Lubin donned a traditional matador's outfit for his ring entrance, as he aims to tame the young bull in the form of his unbeaten opponent, Vergil Ortiz Jnr. 

Ring announcer Thomas Treiber is now introducing both fighters to the crowd, as they prepare to throw down for 12 rounds or less. 

Count Oscar De La Hoya among those on board with the idea of a Vergil Ortiz Jnr-Jaron "Boots" Ennis showdown. 

"That is an amazing fight," De La Hoya told DAZN's Chris Mannix. "That’s a fight the whole world wants to watch."

Ortiz still has to get past Erickson Lubin in tonight's main event, which is coming up shortly. 

The mouthwatering clash puts Golden Boy Promotions (Ortiz) and Matchroom Boxing (Ennis) at the negotiating table. De La Hoya believes he has an ideal solution to decide who gets to take the lead. 

"I’m going up to Eddie Hearn now," insisted the Hall of Fame former 6-division champ and Golden Boy founder and chairman. "We will go into a phone booth and whoever comes out unscathed will have the upper hand."

Scores: 96-94 Fulghum, 95-95, 95-95

Darius Fulghum and David Stevens fight to a 10-round, majority draw. Perfect outcome, as neither fighter deserved to be declared the winner.

Side note: Shout out to our very own Lucas "Big Dog Lukie" Ketelle, who predicted this fight had major potential to end in a draw.

We go to the scorecards, but tough to argue that either Darius Fulghum or David Stevens have won much of anything after tonight's drek. Ten rounds of grappling and other shenanigans littered the DAZN co-feature, which was emphatically booed by the crowd.

"If you want this, you got to push for it."

Renowned cornerman Ronnie Shields was direct and to the point with his super middleweight charge, Darius "DFG" Fulghum who is leaving a lot of opportunity on the table through eight rounds versus David Stevens. 

Their awkward bout has been marred by constant grappling - Stevens early, Fulghum more so in the second half of the fight. The trend was of legitimate concern to Shields, who implored Fulghum to throw more punches in the final two rounds. 

For more than three rounds, Darius Fulghum's fight with David Stevens was more "Destined For Grappling" than "Destined for Greatness."

It changed in an instant late in the 4th round, when Stevens caught Fulghum with a right hook. Fulghum was well in control to that point, but Stevens made a fight of it as he was backed into a corner. The shot briefly stunned Fulghum, who quickly recovered and let his hands go through the balance of the round. 

Darius Fulghum aims for Saturday's co-feature bout with David Stevens to mark the start of his second act to fulfill his "DFG" ("Destined for Greatness") ring moniker.

The 29-year-old, Houston-based contender fights for the first time since his narrow, split decision defeat to Bektemir Melikuziev in their thrilling WBA 168lbs title eliminator on May 30 in Las Vegas, Nevada. The setback marked his lone career defeat, though the type of night where his stock still rose. 

Stevens has suffered both of his defeats in his last four contests but is coming off a 10-round win over unbeaten Petr Khamukov earlier this year.

"I'm letting everybody know - this is the fight I want next."

Jaron "Boot" Ennis could not have been any clearer in his intention to face Vergil Ortiz Jnr next. 

Ortiz, 23-0 (21 KOs) still must get past Erickson Lubin, 27-2 (19 KOs) in tonight's DAZN main event from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Ennis went out of his way to attend, even changing his originally scheduled flight to DFW from Philadelphia to a 4am departure to ensure he arrived on time.

""All the government stuff going on, I wanted to make sure I was here and let everyone know this is the fight I want," Ennis told DAZN's Chris Mannix, while also joined by promoter Eddie Hearn.  "This fight has so much hype behind it. Even more than it did two months ago.

"This fight has a lot of hype behind it and I got a good fan base. So, let's go."