03-21-2021, 08:37 PM
First time I've seen Vergil Ortiz fight. Reminds me a little of Frazier. Great fight:
Ortiz stops Hooker in fire fight
By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside
This was perhaps the biggest fight in Dallas Boxing history between two Dallas born and bred fighters in rising star Vergil Ortiz Jr (17-0, 17 KOs) and former 140lb world champ Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (27-2-3, 19 KOs) in what was definitely one for the books as both fighters went right after each other from the opening bell. But in the end, the young hungry lion, Ortiz Jr., was not to be denied as he came away with the knockout victory in round seven against Hooker in front of a raucous crowd in Fort Worth, Texas at Dickies Arena and shown live on DAZN. The card was promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
Ortiz came forward and took the fight to Hooker in round two and had him against the ropes at times, but Hooker quickly got away. In round three, Hooker used his long reach and his powerful right hand early, but Ortiz quickly closed the distance going to the body and then upstairs with his big right hand. Hooker also went to the body with straight right hands and an overhand right in what quickly became a firefight, similar to the Hooker-Ramirez showdown up the road in Arlington, TX in July 2019, a knockout win for Ramirez who is also the stablemate of Ortiz and both trained by one of the best in Robert Garcia.
Hooker, however, ended round three with two big left hooks and was clearly in the fight as Ortiz acknowledged with a smirk as the round ended. Hooker started off round four strong as he used his length and right hand to keep Ortiz at distance. However, the power of Ortiz was evident as he snapped Hooker’s head back a couple of times and like a shark was constantly on the attack. Ortiz showed great footwork and moved his head side to side and cut off the ring as he stalked Hooker the rest of the round. Both guys exchanged powerful right hands as the bell sounded. Ortiz once again teed off in round five as Hooker spent most of the round covering up against the ropes.
Ortiz finally put Hooker on the canvas after a flurry of punches at the end of round six, but Hooker got back to his feet and went toe to toe with Ortiz as the crowd went crazy. And finally, in round seven of the scheduled twelve, Ortiz dropped Hooker again with a right hand body shot and Hooker went down in pain with an apparently broken hand as referee Laurence Cole immediately waved it off at 56 seconds for the TKO victory as Ortiz Jr. became the new WBO International welterweight champ.
Oscar De La Hoya, promoter for Ortiz Jr, told Fightnews.com before the fight this was a great test for his prized pupil.
“This was the perfect fight to make at this time of his career. Hooker’s going to present to him a different style than what he is used to. He’s going to give him angles, he’s going to give him speed. He’s going to think a little in there, he has Crawford’s corner.”
Ortiz did acknowledge after the fight that Hooker was his toughest test to date but was never hurt.
De La Hoya also predicted what was to come in this Texas showdown between two of the best fighters from Dallas during this era.
“Once a fighter gets hit, everything changes game plans go out the window,” De La Hoya told Fightnews.com before the fight. “Your composure goes out the window and you get into a survival mode. You try to bring in plan B, plan C and nothing works and suddenly you find yourself knocked out. That’s what’s great about boxing. That’s what’s great about having two elite fighters in the ring at the same time.”
De La Hoya was spot on as both guys showed they were world class fighters tonight. Soon after his thrilling win, Ortiz immediately called out WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford, who was in attendance, after the fight.
Crawford dismissed fighting Ortiz to the media after the fight, but thought he fought a good fight and did what he had to do but didn’t see him as a threat. Crawford also has his sights on finally facing Manny Pacquiao or perhaps Shawn Porter next.
In the end, Ortiz at 22, is well on his way to superstardom and could one day be the face of boxing and a pound for pound great. But on this night against fellow Dallas native, Maurice Hooker, Vergil Ortiz Jr. showed he was the best in Big D, not far from where they both grew up and became world class fighters. It was a great night for Dallas boxing.
Ortiz stops Hooker in fire fight
By Jeff Zimmerman at ringside
This was perhaps the biggest fight in Dallas Boxing history between two Dallas born and bred fighters in rising star Vergil Ortiz Jr (17-0, 17 KOs) and former 140lb world champ Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (27-2-3, 19 KOs) in what was definitely one for the books as both fighters went right after each other from the opening bell. But in the end, the young hungry lion, Ortiz Jr., was not to be denied as he came away with the knockout victory in round seven against Hooker in front of a raucous crowd in Fort Worth, Texas at Dickies Arena and shown live on DAZN. The card was promoted by Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions.
Ortiz came forward and took the fight to Hooker in round two and had him against the ropes at times, but Hooker quickly got away. In round three, Hooker used his long reach and his powerful right hand early, but Ortiz quickly closed the distance going to the body and then upstairs with his big right hand. Hooker also went to the body with straight right hands and an overhand right in what quickly became a firefight, similar to the Hooker-Ramirez showdown up the road in Arlington, TX in July 2019, a knockout win for Ramirez who is also the stablemate of Ortiz and both trained by one of the best in Robert Garcia.
Hooker, however, ended round three with two big left hooks and was clearly in the fight as Ortiz acknowledged with a smirk as the round ended. Hooker started off round four strong as he used his length and right hand to keep Ortiz at distance. However, the power of Ortiz was evident as he snapped Hooker’s head back a couple of times and like a shark was constantly on the attack. Ortiz showed great footwork and moved his head side to side and cut off the ring as he stalked Hooker the rest of the round. Both guys exchanged powerful right hands as the bell sounded. Ortiz once again teed off in round five as Hooker spent most of the round covering up against the ropes.
Ortiz finally put Hooker on the canvas after a flurry of punches at the end of round six, but Hooker got back to his feet and went toe to toe with Ortiz as the crowd went crazy. And finally, in round seven of the scheduled twelve, Ortiz dropped Hooker again with a right hand body shot and Hooker went down in pain with an apparently broken hand as referee Laurence Cole immediately waved it off at 56 seconds for the TKO victory as Ortiz Jr. became the new WBO International welterweight champ.
Oscar De La Hoya, promoter for Ortiz Jr, told Fightnews.com before the fight this was a great test for his prized pupil.
“This was the perfect fight to make at this time of his career. Hooker’s going to present to him a different style than what he is used to. He’s going to give him angles, he’s going to give him speed. He’s going to think a little in there, he has Crawford’s corner.”
Ortiz did acknowledge after the fight that Hooker was his toughest test to date but was never hurt.
De La Hoya also predicted what was to come in this Texas showdown between two of the best fighters from Dallas during this era.
“Once a fighter gets hit, everything changes game plans go out the window,” De La Hoya told Fightnews.com before the fight. “Your composure goes out the window and you get into a survival mode. You try to bring in plan B, plan C and nothing works and suddenly you find yourself knocked out. That’s what’s great about boxing. That’s what’s great about having two elite fighters in the ring at the same time.”
De La Hoya was spot on as both guys showed they were world class fighters tonight. Soon after his thrilling win, Ortiz immediately called out WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford, who was in attendance, after the fight.
Crawford dismissed fighting Ortiz to the media after the fight, but thought he fought a good fight and did what he had to do but didn’t see him as a threat. Crawford also has his sights on finally facing Manny Pacquiao or perhaps Shawn Porter next.
In the end, Ortiz at 22, is well on his way to superstardom and could one day be the face of boxing and a pound for pound great. But on this night against fellow Dallas native, Maurice Hooker, Vergil Ortiz Jr. showed he was the best in Big D, not far from where they both grew up and became world class fighters. It was a great night for Dallas boxing.