Highlights
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. demolished Erickson Lubin with a second-round knockout, displaying dominant power from the opening bell in a fight that was never competitive.
- Post-fight social media reaction praised Ortiz’s performance, with boxing figures like Sergio Mora and Claressa Shields showing respect for his power, while Jamel Herring questioned whether Lubin’s best days are behind him after suffering his third career KO loss.
- Ortiz is now positioned for a showdown with Jaron “Boots” Ennis, who entered the ring after the fight for a face-off, setting up a potential clash between two prime 154-pounders in what has become one of boxing’s most intriguing divisions.
On Saturday night at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, Vergil Ortiz Jr. wasted no time proving he was miles above Erickson Lubin and ready for the next big challenge–which appears to be Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
Ortiz scored a decisive second-round KO over Lubin who looks like a guy ready to make a different career decision. Here is a look at the finish.
This fight never really looked competitive. Ortiz was on the front foot from the start looking to plow through Lubin. When the KO came, Lubin looked almost resigned to his fate and Ortiz brought the hammer.
After the fight, social media exploded with reaction to the massacre. Former world champion and current DAZN color analyst Sergio Mora echoed his broadcast sentiments and showed respect to Ortiz after a dominant performance.
Undisputed women’s heavyweight champion Claressa Shields also showed respect to Ortiz’s power after the two-round demolition.
Former world champion Jamel Herring didn’t mince words with his take on the fight and his assessment of Lubin at this point in his career
Lubin has just three losses in his career, but all three have come by way of brutal KO. Herring’s comments aren’t disrespectful to Ortiz’s power. Anyone who has watched the 27-yeaar-old knows he can crack.
Instead, it’s an accurate callout that Lubin’s best days are behind him and his chin is perhaps the aspect of his game that has failed him most. It’ll be interesting to see if and when Lubin will fight again.
As for Ortiz, his next fight should be against Ennis. The former welterweight champion was on hand for Ortiz’s KO win and he climbed into the ring to face-off with his probable future opponents.
Ortiz told Ennis, “don’t make any promises you can’t keep.” Ennis replied, “I’m making all the promises, and I’m keepin them all.” It’s pretty typical trash talk between two guys who don’t actually seem to dislike each other.
Nonetheless, it’s a great fight between two 154-pounders in the prime of their careers. The division has become one of the best in boxing over the past two years. WBO champion Xander Zayas will face WBA Abass Baraou in a title unification bout on January 31 in Puerto Rico. The winner of that fight will have a huge target on their back.
They could wind up matched with the winner of Ortiz-Ennis–assuming it happens–or even the winner of Sebastian Fundora-Keith Thurman. Suddenly there’s a ton of intriguing matchups in the division.
After Saturday night’s performance, Ortiz is in the thick of it.
