Notebook: Vergil Ortiz Jr. stepping up vs. Maurice Hooker in all-Dallas battle

More on Canelo undercard, Jake Paul returns, plenty of quick hits

Jan 27, 2021

Rising welterweight star Vergil Ortiz Jr. and former junior welterweight world titlist Maurice Hooker will battle for hometown Dallas bragging rights.

The much-discussed fight, scheduled for 12 rounds, is now a done deal as the main event for March 20 on DAZN, Golden Boy Promotions announced on Wednesday.

Although the venue was not announced, a source with knowledge of the plans told Fight Freaks Unite the card will take place at Dickies Arena in Forth Worth, Texas, which neighbors Dallas.

“On his rapid ascent from prospect to contender, Vergil has absolutely blown away everyone we have put in front of him,” Golden Boy CEO Oscar De La Hoya said. “But with a win over Maurice Hooker, just one fight removed from a significant title reign, on March 20, Vergil can stamp his ticket to a world championship fight.”

The 22-year-old Ortiz (16-0, 16 KOs), the 2019 prospect of the year, has had the look of a future champion as he has blown through solid opponents in recent fights, including Samuel Vargas, Brad Solomon, Antonio Orozco and Mauricio Herrera. However, Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KOs), 31, is a step up from those opponents despite the fact that he is moving up in weight.

“First and foremost, I’m really grateful to be fighting back at home again,” Ortiz said. “Not only that, but I’ll be fighting another Dallas native in Maurice Hooker. I’ve known Hooker since back in the amateur days. I know we’re going to give the fans back at home a fight to remember.”

Two fights ago, Hooker got knocked out in the sixth round by Jose Ramirez in a fierce 140-pound title unification fight in July 2019 in Arlington, Texas, before rebounding with a first-round knockout of Uriel Perez in December 2019.

Hooker was supposed to fight former junior welterweight titlist Regis Prograis last April but the fight was postponed due to the coronavirus pandemic and then scrapped altogether when Hooker said he needed to rework the agreement for a heavier weight. They could not agree and the fight canceled. Hooker did not hesitate to take on Ortiz.

"I've never been one to shy away from a fight,” Hooker said. “The decision to fight Ortiz was an easy one as it allows me to prove to the world something that I already know – that I'm one of the best welterweights in the world. I have a new team around me who has taken my game to a whole new level, and I feel amazing at this weight class.”

Among the other bouts on the card: heavyweight Arslanbek Makhmudov (11-0, 11 KOs), 31, a Montreal-based Russian, will face an opponent to be determined in a 10-rounder and Anabel Ortiz (31-3, 4 KOs), 34, of Mexico, will defend her strawweight world title against Seniesa Estrada (19-0, 8 KOs), 28, of Los Angeles.

Prospects on Canelo card

Some of Matchroom Boxing’s top prospects have been added to the undercard of unified super middleweight champion Canelo Alvarez’s mandatory defense against Avni Yildirim on Feb. 27 (DAZN and PPV) at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami.

Super middleweight Diego Pacheco (10-0, 8 KOs), 19, will face Rodolfo Gomez Jr. (14-4-1 10 KOs) in an eight-rounder. “I am excited to be back under the bright lights,” Pacheco said. “2021, it’s time to show everyone I’m here and I’m a problem for anyone at 168 pounds.”

Super middleweight Alexis Espino (6-0 4 KOs), 21, will face Ashton Sykes (5-3, 1 KO) in a six-rounder. “I am more than ready to fight on this amazing card and show what I been working,” said Espino, who had two fights canceled in 2020. “It was a frustrating time for me at the end of 2020, but I am itching to finally show how much work I have been putting into this since I haven’t been in the ring due to recent cancellations.”
Featherweight Marc Castro (1-0, 1 KO), 21, who turned pro on Alvarez’s Dec. 19 undercard, faces Lester Brown (4-2-3 1 KO) in a four-rounder at 128 pounds. “I am ready to get back in the ring and I want thank God and my team for making it possible for being a part of the pound-for-pound king Canelo’s undercard once again,” Castro said.

Junior welterweight Aaron Aponte (1-0, 1 KO), 19, who isn’t signed to Matchroom but is essentially getting an audition, will fight a foe to be named in a four-rounder in his hometown.

YouTuber Jake Paul returns

Cruiserweight Jake Paul (2-0, 2 KOs), the popular YouTube personality, is back and will face MMA fighter Ben Askren, a former Bellator and ONE Championship champion, in an eight-round boxing match that will headline an April 17 pay-per-view card at a site to be announced.

Triller, which put on the wildly successful Mike Tyson-Roy Jones Jr. exhibition on Nov. 28, is also putting on the Paul event under its Fight Club banner, which is a partnership between Triller and music star Snoop Dogg. In an official boxing match, Paul knocked out former NBA star Nate Robinson in sensational fashion in the second round on the undercard of Tyson-Jones, which Triller said did 1.6 million PPV buys.

“Ben Askren is a two-time NCAA champion, a world champion in two different global mixed martial arts organizations and has less losses on his record than Connor McGregor,” Paul said. “Me on the other hand, I started boxing two years ago and I’m still going to knock his ass out faster than (UFC star Jorge) Masvidal. These MMA guys think because they throw punches they know how to box. The world complained because I knocked out a basketball player and not a real fighter. So now I’m giving the people what they want by taking on a ‘real fighter.’ After Ben Askren is added to my knockout meme collection, what can anybody say?”

Said Askren: “I know Jake Paul is enjoying pretending he is a fighter. I think on April 17 he is going to have a rude awakening to what being a fighter is really like. Jake has led a privileged life and doesn’t really know what the meaning of being a fighter is. I’m going to put his dreams to an end.”

Truax happy as underdog

Former super middleweight world titlist Caleb Truax, in the twilight of his career, is finally healthy and highly motivated for a mandatory shot against 168-pound titlist Caleb Plant on the Premier Boxing Champions card Saturday night (Fox and Fox Deportes, 8 ET) at Shrine Auditorium and Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

Truax is the underdog and loves the role. He was a big underdog when he defeated James DeGale to win the IBF title in the 2017 upset of the year and he’s aiming to do the same and regain the belt from Plant. I interviewed Truax at length about his situation, so please check out the story on The Ring magazine website: https://www.ringtv.com/616707-caleb-truax-embraces-the-role-of-the-overlooked-underdog/

Quick hits

Nordine Oubaali is finalizing a deal to defend his WBC bantamweight belt on March 13 in Paris against Nawaphon Kaikanha (50-1, 40 KOs), according to a source with knowledge of the plans. Oubaali (17-0, 12 KOs), 34, of France, will be making his third defense and fighting for the first time since coming down with Covid-19, which forced him out of a mandatory defense against former champion Nonito Donaire, whom he was slated to face Dec. 19 in a Showtime main event. Oubaali was given permission by the WBC to have an interim fight after recovering. Conversations to reschedule Oubaali-Donaire are ongoing as they look to meet in the early summer. Kaikanha, 29, of Thailand, suffered his only loss by third-round knockout to Juan Hernandez Navarrete challenging for the vacant WBC flyweight belt in March 2017 in Thailand.

Former junior lightweight world titlist Alberto Machado (22-2, 18 KOs), 30, of Puerto Rico, and lightweight prospect Hector Tanajara (19-0, 5 KOs), 24, of San Antonio, will meet in the lightweight main event of the Ring City USA card on March 18 (NBC Sports Net) on Machado’s home turf in Guaynabo, Puerto Rico, according to multiple sources. The co-feature, per sources, will be a super middleweight fight between 2016 French Olympian Christian Mbili (17-0, 16 KOs), 25, and Ievgen Khytrov (20-2, 17 KOs), 32, a Ukraine native fighting out of Brooklyn, New York, who has won three in a row since losing a five-round decision to Brandon Adams on “The Contender” in 2018.

Although not signed yet, plans are for former two-time super middleweight world titlist David Benavidez (23-0, 20 KOs), 24, of Phoenix, to headline a Showtime card against Ronald Ellis (18-1-2, 12 KOs), 31, of Lynn, Massachusetts, on March 13 at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, the regular site for Showtime events during the coronavirus pandemic, according to multiple sources.

Another Showtime fight in the works for the spring, probably in April, will be a major step-up fight for welterweight prospect Jaron “Boots” Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs), 23, of Philadelphia. The 2020 prospect of the year is being lined up to face former junior welterweight world titlist Sergey Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs), 31, a Kazakhstan native fighting out of Woodland Hills, California, per sources.

The WBC has scheduled a purse bid for the vacant interim light heavyweight title bout between Marcus Browne (23-1, 16 KOs) and Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez (41-0, 27 KOs) for Feb. 5, although the sides could still make a deal until then. The Browne and Ramirez camps have both said they are interested in making the fight.

Quotable

“He has good feet, has good hand speed and he throws good combinations. We’ve been working to negate his strengths, which is combination punching and speed, and my strength is pressure and ring IQ as well. I think I bring something to the table that he’s never fought before outside of Jose Uzcategui in terms of pressure and experience and some overall talent. His last two fights have basically been gimmes. Mike Lee had no business being in the ring with him but credit to him for getting the win and making some money. I think he’s a good boxer, has a high ring IQ and has some grit as he showed in the fight with Uzcategui, who wobbled him a little bit. But he bit down and survived the last couple of rounds. Obviously, he’s not just some cute, flashy boxer. He’s got some grit to him too,” — Caleb Truax on super middleweight titlist Caleb Plant, whom he challenges Saturday

Show and tell

Sure, I collect boxing posters, programs and cards, but I also have other stuff in my collection, such as this piece that I love from circa 1980. It’s the packaging for a pair of Everlast gloves that were sold in sporting good stores and is adorned with images and facsimile autographs of three legends: Muhammad Ali, Joe Frazier and Larry Holmes. For the record: I only have the box, not the gloves that came with it.

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