Welterweight Vergil Ortiz, one of boxing’s elite prospects, will step up in competition when he faces former world title challenger Antonio Orozco in his next fight, Golden Boy Promotions announced on Wednesday.
Ortiz and Orozco, who both have fought most of their careers as junior welterweights but have moved up in weight, will meet in a 10-round bout on Aug. 10 in the main event of a card that will be streamed on DAZN from The Theatre at Grand Prairie in Grand Prairie, Texas.
Ortiz, who ranked No. 4 on the 2018 ESPN top boxing prospect list, stepped up in competition in his welterweight debut and blew away veteran Mauricio Herrera in the third round on May 4 on the Canelo Alvarez-Daniel Jacobs undercard. Now Ortiz (13-0, 13 KOs), 21, of Dallas, is stepping up again against Orozco.
“In his fight against Mauricio Herrera, Vergil Ortiz Jr. went from being the very best prospect in boxing to a serious contender in just three rounds,” Golden Boy Promotions CEO Oscar De La Hoya said. “Ortiz has dynamite in both hands as shown by the way he easily handled Herrera, who had never been stopped before in his career.
“On the other hand, Antonio Orozco has the capabilities to ruin Ortiz’s homecoming party as he is one of the best contenders to come out of the 140-pound division.”
The fight will only be the third for Ortiz in his home region and he’s excited to be fighting closer to home than ever before and in his first hometown main event.
“This will mean a lot to me,” Ortiz said. “This is my first time fighting in my hometown (as a headliner), so this is very special to me. I know Antonio Orozco. Since I had about three professional fights, I kind of knew that we’d be facing each other at some point. He definitely is a tough fighter. He only has one loss, which was against Jose Carlos Ramirez, a world champion. It will be a tough fight. They don’t call him ‘Relentless’ for nothing.
“The fans are going to win in this fight. I have a lot of supporters in Texas, especially in my hometown, and they have been wanting to watch me fight. I know there will be a lot of people talking about it, so I wouldn’t be surprised if it’s a full house.”
Orozco (28-1, 17 KOs), 31, of San Diego, has been a longtime junior welterweight contender but problems making weight finally forced him up to welterweight. He got a world title shot against 140-pound titlist Jose Ramirez in September and lost a unanimous decision in an action-packed brawl in which Ramirez knocked him down twice.
Orozco bounced back with a 10-round decision win over Jose Luis Rodriguez on March 30.
“My manager (Frank Espinoza) called me and offered me this fight,” Orozco said. “As soon as I heard the name, I didn’t hesitate. This is a big opportunity to showcase my skills and my Mexican style. Honestly, I’m ready to derail the dreams of Vergil Ortiz Jr. On Aug. 10 I will remind everyone why I deserve another shot at the title.”
The card will also include several of Golden Boy’s Texas prospects against opponents to be named, including San Antonio lightweight Hector Tanajara (17-0, 5 KOs) in the 10-round co-feature.
Bantamweight Joshua Franco (15-1-1, 7 KOs), of San Antonio, Texas, will be in a 10-rounder; Dallas junior middleweight Alex Rincon (6-0, 5 KOs) will fight a six-rounder; Austin, Texas junior middleweight Travell Mazion (14-0, 12 KOs) will participate in an eight-round fight; Dallas junior welterweight George Rincon (6-0, 3 KOs) will box in a six-round lightweight contest; and newly-signed light heavyweight Tristan Kalkreuth, a standout amateur from Duncanville, Texas, will make his pro debut in a four-round fight.