Vergil Ortiz Jr. endured his first true step up in class for his last homecoming appearance.

It was only fitting to once again rise to the occasion in familiar surroundings.

The unbeaten welterweight contender faces arguably his most notable opponent to date, as Ortiz squares off with former junior welterweight titlist Maurice Hooker. Their all-Dallas showdown takes place Saturday evening, live on DAZN from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, not too far from the hometown of either boxer.

“This fight is really special, it means a lot to me,” Ortiz stated during Thursday’s final pre-fight press conference. “I asked for this fight at 140 pounds when [Hooker] was champ. He was a good fighter then, and he is a good fighter now.

“I only want to fight the best. The only way to be the best is to fight the best. I feel very confident. I have the confidence of my promoter (Golden Boy Promotions) and team behind me. I had a great camp, and I am ready to go.”

The last fight in-state for Ortiz (16-0, 16KOs) came in Aug. 2019, headlining in his Grand Prairie hometown. Ortiz was taken deeper than at any point in his pro career, as former title challenger Antonio Orozco lasted until the 6th round before their DAZN headliner was stopped.

Two wins have since followed, including a new career-long bout. Ortiz stopped Brad Solomon inside of five rounds in Dec. 2019 to cap a four-knockout campaign which earned him Prospect of the Year accolades. The pandemic limited Ortiz’s 2020 run to just one fight, a 7th round stoppage of Samuel Vargas last July in Indio, California.

Hooker (27-1-3, 18KOs) suffered a knockout loss in his lone career defeat, as he was stopped inside of six rounds by Jose Ramirez in their July 2019 junior welterweight title unification clash. Hooker reigned as the WBO titlist for 13 months before falling short versus Ramirez atop a DAZN show from College Park Center in Arlington, not too far from his Dallas hometown.

Just one win has followed for Hooker, in fact having only fought one round in the past 20 months. That moment came in a 1st round stoppage of Uriel Perez in Dec. 2019.

On paper, it is suggested that Ortiz will continue his perfect knockout-to-win run. The 22-year-old is relying more, however, on the work done in training camp than statistical analysis.

“We will find out on Saturday if my power and size will be too much for him,” notes Ortiz. “But it’s not just power with me. It’s not just my physical attributes. My best attribute is my thinking ability. We’re gonna do a lot of that on Saturday.

“I’ve said it in my past interviews. I don’t look for the knockout anymore. If the time comes and he’s hurt, I will finish him. Who wouldn’t?”

Jake Donovan is a senior writer for BoxingScene.com. Twitter: @JakeNDaBox