Vergil Ortiz is beginning to feel more and more comfortable as the face of Golden Boy Promotions.
He has long been a fighter that has the respect and adoration of execs at the company because of the way he holds himself outside the ring and his knockout prowess inside of it. To date, Ortiz has finished every opponent he’s ever faced with 21 KOs from 21 wins and remains unbeaten.
Though he’s fought Mauricio Herrera, Maurice Hooker, and Egidijus Kavaliauskas, his next opponent — Serhii Bohachuk — may well be the toughest test of his career so far.
Should he win, he’ll receive the WBC interim world super welterweight championship and open up doors to even bigger fights.
Yes, he has his eyes set on fighting Errol Spence Jr. in Texas, Tim Tszyu in Las Vegas, and Terence Crawford seemingly anywhere, but he must first beat Bohachuk, which is no easy feat.
Even Ortiz acknowledges it’ll be “a competitive fight” based on the 50+ rounds of sparring they’ve done together through the years in Southern California.
From seeing Bohachuk work in the gym, and sparring him, and being in similar weight classes, Ortiz always knew he would one day box Bohachuk for pay, and so he gathered intel so that when the day comes, he’ll be excited for it. “I’m physically and emotionally ready to go,” he said.
“I’ve sparred him before many times, so I’m very familiar with him,” Ortiz told World Boxing News this week. “I remember the rounds were very competitive. We both had our own good rounds. He throws a lot. He’s a pressure fighter.”
When you combine Ortiz’s knockout run, Bohachuk’s pressure, and their sparring history, it means one thing for the fighters involved, Ortiz told us. “It’ll be Fight of the Year.”
With the medical issues that plagued his 147-pound days behind him, Ortiz is keen to deliver in the only way he’s known —by turning up and putting on a show by wowing the crowd with spectacular violence.
It is the reason why so many fans flock to his fights, regardless of whether he’s competing in Texas, Las Vegas, or California.
Having been around Golden Boy Promotions behind-the-scenes for years, it’s always been apparent that they hold fighters like Ortiz, Alexis Rocha, Jaime Munguia, and rising star Floyd ‘Kid Austin’ Schofield in the highest of regards.
It has only really been in 2024, though, that Ortiz himself is beginning to feel like the company’s No.1 fighter.
“Oscar will always be the face of Golden Boy Promotions, but I think for the first time in my career, I do feel like it [a face],” he told us.
“I don’t feel pressure to deliver, but I’ll always go out there and do my thing,” he said.
One of the things that set de la Hoya apart during his fighting days was that he ran a gauntlet of elite opposition, and routinely came out on top.
One year after defeating Julio Cesar Chavez, for instance, he beat Pernell Whitaker. He also shared the ring with Ike Quartey, Felix Trinidad, Shane Mosley, Fernando Vargas, his future business partner Bernard Hopkins, and, of course, Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao.
There is a desire from the top at Golden Boy to see their fighters in fights — and runs of fights — like those, which is why they happily put Ryan Garcia in the ring with Gervonta Davis and Devin Haney, and Jaime Munguia in with Saul ‘Canelo’ Alvarez.
It is why, perhaps one day soon, Ortiz could be thrust into the biggest combat sports spectacles of the year.
So, if he could pick, what are the legacy fights he covets the most?
“I would love the winner of Spence and Fundora,” he told World Boxing News. “I hope Spence wins because we’re both from Dallas, and we can make it happen in Arlington [at the Cowboys Stadium].
“I’d love to fight Crawford, too,” Ortiz added. “The Tim Tszyu fight is for sure still possible, a legacy fight, and a huge fight as well.
“We’ve just got to get through this one against Bohachuk first,” he finished.
Ortiz fights Bohachuk at Mandalay Bay Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas on August 10. The bout, and the rest of the card, will air on DAZN.
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.
