LAS VEGAS — Vergil Ortiz returns to the ring Saturday for an interim WBC super welterweight title fight against Serhii Bohachuk at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas.
Should he win, he could be thrust into big fight after big fight, as Golden Boy Promotions founder Oscar De La Hoya told World Boxing News and other reporters this week that he’s planning to box Ortiz against Tim Tszyu, and Terence Crawford in upcoming fights.
The 26-year-old Ortiz has long been touted for success at Golden Boy and is on the cusp of becoming the face of De La Hoya’s roster, largely thanks to his knockout streak.
Golden Boy have shown in recent years a desire to seek out the biggest, and, sometimes toughest fights for their athletes, having booked Ryan Garcia into the Gervonta Davis mega-event last year, and Jaime Munguia against Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez earlier this year. Should Ortiz keep winning, a big 154-pound battle against Crawford could be as meaningful for boxing as those two pay-per-view events.
“I think Crawford and Vergil in the first quarter of next year will be a super fight,” De La Hoya told WBN after making a $20,000 donation to Las Vegas educators on Wednesday.
A dominant force at lightweight, super lightweight, and welterweight, a division in which he scored an all-time great win over long-time rival Errol Spence Jr., ‘Bud’ Crawford moved to 154 for a title fight against Israil Madrimov that WBN attended August 3 in Los Angeles.
Though he beat Madrimov by decision, Crawford did not look as devastating as he has in recent years.
De La Hoya told us that is to be expected sometimes when a fighter moves up a division and fights a top-tier guy.
“Sometimes you’re not going to look as you did in previous fights, fighting smaller guys. And it’s okay, he said. “It’s a learning process. He has to establish himself at 154.”
Before Ortiz and Crawford fight, de la Hoya would like to see his fighter compete against Tszyu.
Ortiz and Tszyu were supposed to fight on the main card of the Crawford vs Madrimov event, but Tszyu withdrew due to a head injury.
A source at Golden Boy Promotions told us Thursday that this worked out internally as they regarded Ortiz as a headliner rather than a main card fighter, particularly if he was to compete against a fighter like Bohachuk, whom he boxes this weekend on DAZN.
Though Bohachuk, like Madrimov, is a tough champion, if Ortiz wins, then it’s likely that the Tszyu fight will be rearranged.
De la Hoya said as much Thursday, when he again addressed WBN and other reporters at a press conference to talk about his event, and what’s in store for Ortiz in the near future.
“I will pursue Tim Tszyu before we get to Crawford,” he said.
The super welterweight landscape has three distinct champions.
Sebastian Fundora has the WBO and WBC belts wrapped around his waist, while Bakhram Murtazaliev and Crawford are the IBF and WBA champs, respectively.
For Golden Boy, it seems like the best way to build up a super-fight at super welterweight is to have Ortiz, should he beat Bohachuk, fight the winner of the Murtazaliev vs Tszyu fight later this year, and then put the titles on the line against Fundora for a unification match.
The last man standing, in this scenario, would be ideally placed to fight Crawford.
“That’s what boxing’s all about,” De La Hoya said.
Alan Dawson is World Boxing News Lead Writer, a 2 x Sports Journalist of the Year finalist, and 5 x BWAA awards winner. Follow Alan @AlanDawsonSport.
