Vergil Ortiz Jr Wins by 6th Round TKO
Rising welterweight talent Vergil Ortiz Jr (14-0, 14 KO’s) won his entertaining hometown fight by way of sixth round TKO. The win was made more impressive due to Antonio “Relentless” Orozco (28-2, 17 KO’s) being his most experienced and accomplished opponent to date. Ahead of the match, Ortiz stated that he hoped Orozco would provide him a bit of a challenge. Even though he got a dominant victory, the Texan certainly got his wish!
The Breakdown
Although he describes himself as ‘slow starter,’ it appeared that Ortiz had his adversary buzzed in the very first minute of the first round. Despite the scary moment, Orozco rebounded well and finished the period strong.
Over the next four rounds, Vergil Ortiz Jr showed his talent, and some glaring flaws. When the hometown fighter used his height, jab and footwork, there was little that Relentless could do with him. Thankfully for Orozco, Ortiz frequently threw all these useful tools out the window and decided to fight a brawling phone booth-styled bout. When Ortiz took this route, he shelled up, forgot he knew how to jab and languished on the ropes far too often.
Whenever Ortiz chose to fight in this rugged fashion, Orozco enjoyed notable success. Ironically, the end would come quickly after Orozco fought a solid fifth round. Prior to this prizefight, Ortiz had never been in a fight that passed the fifth. Nevertheless, in the first minute of the sixth round, Vergil Ortiz Jr rocked Orozco with steady a combination of accurate head punches and sent him to the canvas.
Orozco rose before the count of ten, but was not fully recovered, and subsequently was bludgeoned until he had to take a knee. For the second time he would beat the count, but just barely. Orozco stood to his full height right at the count of nine. Ortiz rapidly jumped on his wounded opponent with a series of hard punches.
This time though, Ortiz was not landing as cleanly. It almost looked like he had punched himself out when he managed to seat his adversary down on the seat of his pants. With Orozco suffering three knockdowns in the same period, referee Mark Calo-oy would immediately call a halt to the action.
Conclusion
With all said and done, this was solid win for Vergil Ortiz Jr in front of his hometown fans. However, if the talented fighter wants to continue his upwards ascension through the ranks, he will definitely have to work on a few items. First and foremost, he needs to stay behind his jab and resist the urge to shell up and throw hard shots near exclusively.
By: Bakari Simpson
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