Otis Jr. vs. Madrimov: Can “Little GGG” debunk the hype?

WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. said Jaron 'Boots' Ennis was ) immediately agreed to fight Israil Madrimov after choosing not to fight him.

Virgil Jr. can't get involved in another controversial decision that goes in his favor because winning a controversial decision in his last fight against Serhiy Bohachuk would look bad for him. If he gets too many of those, it will limit his star power.

low output concerns

Madrimov has enough skill and power to make this a tough fight for Ortiz Jr., but he doesn't throw many punches, which should give Vergil Jr. a significant advantage. He is much busier.

In Madrimov's loss to Terrence Crawford, he didn't pitch enough and lacked energy in the championship game. It was a winnable fight, but he let Crawford get the better of him despite having less strength, size and youth. Terrence just wanted more. Vergil Jr. and his team may have seen Madrimov's low output, which may have been one of the reasons they agreed to fight him. He may be overworked.

Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) said it “motivates” him in training camp as he prepares to fight a strong opponent. However, he's only fought one good opponent in his nine-year career, a highly questionable 12-round majority decision victory over WBC interim 154-pound champion Boharczuk on August 10 last year in Las Vegas. .

Virgil was knocked down twice by Bohachuk, hitting the deck in the first and eighth. He protested the first knockdown, saying it was a mistake, but replays showed it was a knockdown.

Virgil was considered a loser by many boxing fans who believed he was capable of defeating the Ukrainian boxer. Ortiz Jr. was criticized by many when he chose not to rematch Bohalchuk to clear up the controversy. Turki Shaikh could have insisted that he fight, and Virgil Jr. might have done the same. That never happened, so now Virgil moves on behind a dark cloud.

Aside from Bohachuk, Vergil's only notable win on his resume is against Egidius
Cavalioskas. He was staggered early in the fight but somehow survived and scored a knockout in the eighth round.

Can Madrimov win?

“On paper, it was a great fight. He just had a great fight with Crawford. He did a really good job. Even though he lost, it's not something to be ashamed of. performance. Vergil Ortiz Jr. talks about Israil Madrimov’s recent loss to Terrence Crawford in an interview with Sports Boxing on August 3 Terence Crawford said.

“We were supposed to play against 'Boots' and that match fell through. So, I was thinking, 'Am I still playing?' It was a bit up in the air, and then I got a call from my dad, 'Would you like to play against Madrid?' Will Moff fight? “I thought, 'Yes, I will. It's a great fight. I say yes because he's a tough fighter.'

“I'm a very competitive person. It motivates me in training camp when I know there's a tough battle ahead. It keeps me focused. I know there's a lot waiting for you [against Madrimov]but I like it. It gets the adrenaline pumping,” Virgil Jr. said.

This will be Virgil's second best opponent of his career and it will be interesting to see how he fares. “Little GGG” Madrimov can punch with both hands and has superb boxing skills. Again, his output is not high and his physical strength is poor. He was out of breath against Crawford in the championship game.

Ennis duck?

“Can we talk about Boots because there was some argument going on between the two of you,” Gareth A. Davies told Vergil Jr. about him and Jalen Jaron 'Boots' Ennis said the fight did not happen. “This is a fight we all want to see. There have been over forty arguments between you two. Do you think he is [Ennis] Avoiding you? There are controversies over issues like weight.

“I don't think he was avoiding me. I thought someone on the team was lying,” Ortiz Jr. said of what he believed was dishonesty on someone on Ennis' team. “As boxers, we're not the ones negotiating. We don't communicate. We have managers for a reason.

“I'm not saying it was his manager because there were a lot of people involved. I can't say who he was because I don't know who he was. I just know we were on our side and we said: 'Yes. “I believe so. It's a fight that has to happen,” Ortiz Jr. said when asked if he believed he would eventually fight Jalen Ennis. “