Ortiz Jr. will defend WBC interim title against Lubin in Texas

Vergil Ortiz Jr. Will Defend WBC Interim Title Against Erickson Lubin

On November 8th, boxer Vergil Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) will return to the ring to defend his interim super welterweight title of the World Boxing Council (WBC). The fight will take place at the Dickies Center in Fort Worth, Texas, and will have Erickson Lubin as his opponent. The announcement was made by Golden Boy Promotions. The fight will be broadcast live worldwide via DAZN. This event represents a homecoming for Ortiz, who is coming off a decision victory over Israil Madrimov in February.

I always feel happy to be part of the fights that the fans want to see.
Vergil Ortiz Jr.

Although, this might not be the fight Ortiz originally wanted. Ortiz, 27 years old, aimed for a fight with WBO champion Xander Zayas, and both exchanged provocations on social media. An offer was made to Zayas’ promoter, Top Rank, with a deadline to accept, but no agreement was reached. Ortiz’s team quickly secured the fight with Lubin. There were also rumors about a possible fight between Ortiz and Jaron “Boots” Ennis in 2026, but no agreement was reached.

Golden Boy literally tried to get us all the important opponents and nobody wanted to fight Vergil. Even His Excellency (Turki Alalshikh) tried by offering ‘Boots’ a life-changing sum of money and he refused to fight as preparation. Vergil Ortiz is the most feared man in boxing. Credit must be given to Lubin for doing what no one else would.
Rick Mirigan, Ortiz’s manager

Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) is currently ranked number 1 in the IBF super welterweight rankings. He has won three consecutive fights after losing to current WBC champion Sebastian Fundora in April 2022. Lubin, 29, has victories over Jeison Rosario and Jesus Ramos, and his other loss was against Jermell Charlo in a WBC super welterweight title fight in 2017, which resulted in a devastating first-round knockout. Lubin will seek to surprise and obtain the most important victory of his career, while continuing his quest to become a world champion.