Vergil Ortiz Jr. Stares Down A Last Chance/First Chance In Serhii Bohachuk, August 10

Not too long ago, Vergil Ortiz Jr. was considered one of the “can’t miss” future stars of boxing. In some circles, he’s still seen in that light, albeit with a collective raised eyebrow and a good degree of skepticism.

The 26-year-old Grand Prairie, Texas native hasn’t had a truly meaningful win since August of 2021 when he stopped Egidijus Kavaliauskas in the eighth round after being stunned, himself, in the second.

Since that victory, there’s been nothing but stops, stalls, and delays in Ortiz’s career, stemming from bouts with the muscle condition rhabdomyolysis and the strain of trying to make the 147 lb. limit. He twice had to pull out of bouts with WBA welterweight titlist Eimantas Stanionis and even had to postpone a relatively nothing fight with the UK’s Michael McKinson.

The Stalled Career of Vergil Ortiz Jr.

The difficulties saw the previously red hot prospect have to sit on the sidelines from August of 2022 to January of 2024, when he returned to the ring at 156 lbs. and flattened the well-weathered natural welterweight Fredrick Lawson in one round. Ortiz would follow that up with another first round stoppage as a small middleweight (155.6 lbs.) over another well-weathered welterweight, Thomas Dulorme, who came into the drubbing 1-3 in his previous four contests.

The stated goal for Ortiz was to compete in the junior middleweight division, but he’s yet to make the 154 lb. limit since his return to the ring.

On August 10, he’ll be riding that 0-0 record at junior middleweight into a junior middleweight title shot (of sorts) against WBC interim 154 lb. champion, the Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk (24-1, 23 KOs) at the Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.

Ortiz (21-0, 21 KOs) was getting set to fight for another junior middleweight interim world title (WBA) versus Tim Tszyu on the Saudi-organized August 3 card in Los Angeles when the bout was called off for medical reasons by Team Tszyu. The massive scalp gash that led to Tszyu losing his March 30 clash with Sebastian Fundora had not yet healed well enough to resume training.

Ortiz-Bohachuk is a Good One

With the Saudis reportedly turning down Bohachuk as a replacement opponent, Ortiz’s promoter Golden Boy decided to make the compelling Ortiz-Bohachuk matchup a standalone event a week later.

And Ortiz-Bohachuk IS a compelling matchup between two strong, power fighters who prefer fighting over boxing. There are questions to be answered when it comes to both. Bohachuk, for instance, must prove his durability and his main stage chops in the coming contest

Ortiz’s questions come outside the ring, where a failure to make weight and stay healthy have all but killed his career momentum. He’s no longer the kid rolling over “real” fighters like Mauricio Herrera, Antonio Orozco, Brad Solomon, Maurice Hooker, and Kavaliauskas. He’s now the guy who can’t seem to make it to the ring and who’s only had two live rounds in two full years– against two hopelessly over-matched and undersized opponents.

It’s brutal to assess that anything is a “last chance” for someone who’s only 26. But it’s really easy to see the wheels falling off the Vergil Ortiz Jr. career cart if Ortiz doesn’t impress on August 10 or, worse yet, if he has to pull out of a fight once again.