Vergil Ortiz Jr
El Vergilio
Bio
Vergil Ortiz Jr is the fight nobody at 154 particularly wants, which is the highest compliment this sport pays anybody.
The Texan built his reputation as one of the most destructive finishers in boxing — a man who, for a long stretch of his career, simply did not need the judges. He has since moved up to junior middleweight and kept doing much the same thing to people.
His name came up again this week when Terence Crawford used it as a stick to beat Jaron Ennis with, arguing that Ennis will accept a fight with a retired 39-year-old sooner than he will take Ortiz at 154. Whether or not you buy Crawford's motives, the underlying point stands — Ortiz is the avoidable fight in the division.
Make no mistake, Ortiz-Ennis is the best fight that can be made at junior middleweight and one of the best in the sport full stop. It should have been signed already.