Vergil Ortiz Jr. explains why he chose to fight Israil Madrimov

Vergil Ortiz Jr. said he wanted to fight former WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov. Ortiz Jr. (21-0, 20 Kos) announced the sparring session.fun,” And he found it interesting for the fans to fight it.

Fan-friendly battle

Ortiz Jr., 26, will be holding the WBC’s provisional 154-pound belt against Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) on February 22nd, with Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol 2 at the Kingdom Arena of Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. Defend with an undercard. . This event will be shown live in Dazn PPV.

The event organizers, surprisingly, placed the Virgil Jr.-Madrimov battle, as the third match on the undercard, as it should not be, as it should be. . They focus on the British audience before Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker and Carlos Adams vs. Ham the Sheilaz vs. Ortiz vs. Madrimov Clash.

Madrimov was beaten by Terrence Crawford in Los Angeles on August 3rd and beaten in a competitive battle that he could have won if he threw several more punches in the second half of the contest. . That’s where Crawford became stronger to win a vital championship round in his activities.

“Madrimov is putting pressure on Crawford, and Crawford is waiting for the opening. But he’s just got caught up in the right band,” Vergil Ortiz Jr. told Dazn Boxing on August 3rd last year. I re-watched Israil Madrimov’s final battle with Terence Crawford.

“Madrimov does a good job defensively. He’s not hit much. He didn’t. I thought Crawford would win more decisively, but Madrimov was Kuro. He did a really good job of stealing what Ford is best at. He had a lot of good feints. He was throwing a lot. Crawford respected his power. I know.

“I haven’t done it yet, but I will,” Vergil Jr. said when asked if he had studied this fight between Madrimov and Crawford to prepare for his conflict. Ta. “The problem is, me and Crawford are two completely different fighters. Of course I can study it, but even if me and Crawford fought the same way, he did it. I’m trying to go in a different way.

Bergill predicted that Crawford would easily defeat Madrimov, but the 37-year-old barely won and turned out to be a very close fight. He didn’t realize how difficult it would be to fight Madrimov as he did against Errol Spence in his previous match a year ago. Madrimov was too powerful and technically sound to escape the same thing Crawford did against Spence, driven by a depleted car crash.

“I had three or four sparring sessions with Madrimov. I remember a lot. It was a fun sparring session and that was one of the reasons why I fought it, and it was a tough battle. , it’s another fight and I know the fans will be entertained with it,” Ortiz Jr.

Vergil describes his battle with Madrimov as a “hard fight.” #beterbievbivol2 | #Harhsaonon | February 22nd, Live on Dazn: Click on the Bio link to buy | @turki_alshikh pic.twitter.com/ndm9f6rdbf

– Dazn Boxing (@Daznboxing) February 11, 2025