Notebook: Ortiz, Lubin common ground: No avoiding tough fights
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When WBC junior middleweight titlist Vergil Ortiz Jr. and top contender Erickson Lubin say they will fight anyone they apparently mean it.
Ortiz has faced and beaten two of the toughest contenders in the 154-pound division in his last two fights, surviving two knockdowns in a majority decision win over Serhii Bohachuk to claim the interim belt in August 2024 followed by a more clear-cut unanimous decision over former world titlist Israil Madrimov in February.
Ortiz will face his third top opponent in a row when he defends the interim title against Erickson Lubin in the main event of a Golden Boy Promotions card on Nov. 8 (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET) at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, a home region fight for Ortiz, who is from nearby Grand Prairie, Texas.
The fighters went face-to-face at the kickoff news conference this week in Arlington, Texas, and Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs), 27, explained that he is far more motivated in training if he knows he is facing a legitimate threat, which is what he considers Lubin.