Vergil Ortiz Jr. came out victorious over Israil Madrimov on February 22 at The Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia. The pair battled it out on the undercard of Artur Beterbiev vs Dmitry Bivol 2.
The native of Dallas, TX secured the win, defeating the former champion from Uzbekistan by unanimous decision. After 12 rounds at super welterweight, the judges scored the fight 115-113, 115-113, and 117-111.
With the victory, Ortiz Jr. made the first successful defense of the interim WBC 154-pound belt that he had claimed last August against Serhii Bohachuk. The Grand Prairie, Texas-based 26-year-old improved to 23-0 with 21 KOs and remained undefeated.
“I’m very happy,” Vergil Ortiz Jr. said. “This was expected. I knew that I was the better fighter. I respect Israil Madrimov. We knew what kind of fighter he was going to be. He was a tough opponent. He was there to win, to prove himself, after a loss to one of the best in the world. We just wanted to show that we are the best at 154 lbs, and we say ‘yes’ to everybody.”
“Stay patient, don’t overthrow,” Ortiz Jr. said when asked about the key to dealing with Madrimov in the ring. “It’s something I’ve learned over my years in boxing where I used to put everything into one punch. But I knew that I was going to have to be smart and take my time.”
“Just stay composed, don’t get overexcited. Because I get excited – I like to fight. Just stay composed and do what I do best.”
“I just want to fight the best,” Ortiz said when asked what he wanted to do next. “I’ve never ducked anybody, No matter what anybody says.”
Israil Madrimov suffered his second consecutive defeat after dropping a unanimous decision to Terence Crawford last August. The Indio, CA-based 30-year-old dropped to 10-2-1 with 7 KOs.