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Andreas Hale
Vergil Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) will return to the ring on Nov. 8 when he faces Erickson Lubin in defense of his WBC interim junior middleweight title at Dickies Center in Fort Worth, TX, Golden Boy Promotions announced Thursday. The fight will be broadcast live worldwide on DAZN.
It will be a home game for the hard-hitting Ortiz, who is coming off of an impressive decision win over Israil Madrimov in February.
“I’m always happy to be a part of the fights that fans want to see,” said Ortiz in a statement.
However, it may not have been the fight Ortiz originally wanted.
Ortiz, 27, had been targeting a fight with WBO champion Xander Zayas and the two exchanged barbs over social media. An offer was made to Zayas promoter, Top Rank, with a deadline of last Friday to accept. The two sides were unable to come to an agreement and Ortiz’s management quickly moved to secure a fight with Lubin. There were also rumors that a fight between Ortiz and Jaron “Boots” Ennis would take place in 2026. ESPN reached out to Ortiz’s representation, who denied that any agreement was in place for that fight to happen.
“Golden Boy literally tried every single major opponent out there for us and no one would fight Vergil,” said Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigan, to ESPN. “Even His Excellency (Turki Alalshikh) tried by offering ‘Boots’ life changing money and he said no for a tune up fight. Vergil Ortiz is the most feared man in boxing. Credit to Lubin for doing what no one else would.”
Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) is currently the IBF No. 1 ranked fighter at junior middleweight. He has won three consecutive fights after losing a barnburner against current WBC champion Sebastian Fundora in April 2022. Lubin, 29, has wins over Jeison Rosario and Jesus Ramos, with his only other loss coming against Jermell Charlo in a WBC junior middleweight title fight in 2017, which resulted in a devastating first-round knockout.
Lubin will look to pull off the upset and earn the biggest win of his career as he continues his pursuit to become a world champion.
“This is the moment I’ve been waiting for, said Lubin. “This fight is about redemption; I’m back for everything.”