As talk of Terence Crawford’s future continues, one undefeated star wants a piece of the newly crowned undisputed super middleweight champion.
Crawford cemented his status as arguably boxing’s best active fighter and one of the all-time greats this past Saturday, when he headlined a Netflix event co-promoted by Dana White and Turki Alalshikh.
At Las Vegas’ Allegiant Stadium, Crawford beat the great Canelo Alvarez. The result was an upset, and among those likely surprised by how the fight played out was interim WBC super welterweight titleholder Vergil Ortiz Jr.
“There are different types of power,” Ortiz told The Ring ahead of the September 13 fight. “With Canelo, it feels like an unstoppable force. He’s not necessarily explosive, but man, he’s heavy-handed.
“It’s not about favoritism toward Canelo, it’s just logical — a bigger great fighter beats a smaller great fighter…Honestly, I feel like Crawford should have tested himself against someone else at 168 before going straight for Canelo.”
After being proved wrong by ‘Bud’, Ortiz wants the chance to do what Alvarez couldn’t.
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Vergil Ortiz open to moving up for the Terence Crawford fight
Ortiz is one of the fastest-rising stars in boxing, having accumulated a perfect 23-0 record with a strong 90 percent knockout rate. ‘The Texas Machine’ most recently defeated an opponent he shares with Crawford, Israil Madrimov, to retain the interim title that he claimed with a win over Serhii Bohachuk.
While the 27-year-old thinks 168 pounds would be at the limit of his current capabilities, he would be more than willing to move up to 160 pounds for a long-awaited shot at handing Crawford his first defeat.
‘If the fight comes up, if the opportunity comes up, I would love that fight,” Ortiz told YSM Sports Media before the Alvarez fight.
“Why not?” Ortiz added when asked if he would fight Crawford right now at 160 pounds.
“I feel like I’m big at 154 as it is. I was a big 140, big 147, big 154. I always said I would go up to 160 eventually, so why not?”
Ortiz has since reiterated that sentiment, telling ESNews that a clash with Crawford is “a good fight” that he’s been “calling for since he was at 147.”
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Vergil Ortiz may have competition from Ilia Topuria
Ortiz is not the only prominent name eyeing up a showdown with Crawford, and one of the most notable comes from outside of boxing.
Topuria has been targeting Crawford since before his victory over Alvarez, and talk of their fantasy fight has picked up in recent days.
After seeing ‘Bud’ deny even knowing who the Spaniard was during an appearance on The Ariel Helwani Show, Topuria hit back on social media and once again vowed to KO the undisputed super middleweight king in the ring.
“You say you’re an MMA fan but you don’t even know who I am…interesting,” Topuria wrote on X.
“The first time we met you told me ‘good luck this week with your fight.’ Your memory fails you…and soon your chin will too.
“I’ll represent the entire MMA community. Pound-for-pound #1 in real fights vs the pound-for-pound boxer,” Topuria added.