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Virgil Ortiz Jr. Says He’s “Expecting” His Fight With Israel MadrimovChess match” next month on February 22 when they face off in a round of 12 match in Riyadh.
Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) will defend his WBC interim junior middleweight title in his last fight against former WBA 154-lb champion Madrymov (10-1-1, 7) against Serhii Bohachuk. KOs).
Madrymov’s power versus Ortiz Jr.’s speed
Former amateur star Madrymov has a size and power advantage over Ortiz Jr., but he doesn’t have the same punching power or strength. If Israel can’t throw more and fight hard in the later rounds, Virgil Jr. will cruise to victory in this matchup.
As we saw in the recent loss to Terence Crawford, Madrymov uses a lot of feints and waits a lot to throw the shot. When Madrymov throws, it’s always just one punch. It’s not a combo punch. After being hit for about 30 seconds, fire a shot and it starts again. That’s why he was defeated by Crawford and could be defeated by Virgil.
“I can’t tell you how it will be. I think it will be a chess match, but it will be interesting. It’s just going to be fun,” Virgil Ortiz Jr. told Queensberry Promotions. YouTube On February 22 in Riyadh, the defense channel about the title against Israel Madrimov.
“I think there’s a lot of bull with people. ‘Oh, I see fear,’ he said when asked what he saw when he faced Israel Madrimov. “I’m there watching you because I have to. Do you know what I mean? I don’t see anything. Like, ‘This is part of the job or something’, I’m trying not to laugh. That’s what I think. Trying not to laugh or laugh. That’s just being real,” Ortiz Jr. said.
Recent controversies
Both fighters could have easily turned the tables and gone the other way in recent matches. Madrymov beat Terence Crawford, but was handed a questionable 12-round decision on August 3 last year. Virgil Jr. got very lucky with a 12-round majority decision win over WBC interim 154-lb champion Bohachuk on August 10th.
Ortiz Jr. was knocked down twice and appeared to lose six of the twelve rounds. Normally, that would mean a loss, but the judges gave Virgil the A-side fighter, and now he’s the new WBC interim champion.
Obviously, it would have been better for Virgil to clear up the controversy, but he didn’t. That doesn’t help his career as the fans now see him as a tainted semi-champion. Turki al-Sheikh had to convince Virgil Jr. to give Bohachuk a rematch before appearing on his shows again.
