Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Israil Madrimov Preview & Picks
Vergil Ortiz Jr is tipped to retain the interim WBC super-welterweight title.
Israil Madrimov will push him all the way, but ultimately we expect Ortiz Jr’s accuracy, power and evasiveness to earn him the decision win.
- Vergil Ortiz Jr has an unbeaten 22-0 record
- Vergil Ortiz Jr went the distance in his first interim world title fight
- Israil Madrimov’s only career defeat came via decision
Vergil Ortiz Jr Form
Vergil Ortiz Jr is the current interim WBC super-welterweight with an unbeaten professional record of 22-0 (21 KOs).
Ortiz Jr made his debut in July 2016 and regularly featured on undercards for arena and stadium events in the United States before he started to make his breakthrough in 2020.
He knocked out Samuel Vargas in the seventh round that year, and in 2021 he claimed the scalp of a former world champion as he stopped Maurice Hooker in the seventh.
The 26-year-old Mexican followed that up with an eighth-round stoppage of Egidijus Kavaliauskas, and then knocked out Michael McKinson in the ninth round in his only outing of 2022.
Ortiz Jr did not fight for almost 18 months after that, but he made up for lost time as he fought three times in 2024.
He began the year with a quickfire knockout of Fredrick Lawson, taking only 153 seconds to get the job done, and he then backed that up with a 159-second stoppage of Thomas Dulorme.
That earned him a fight for the WBC interim title last August, and he took his chance with a majority decision win over Serhii Bohachuk, surviving a couple of knockdowns along the way.
Israil Madrimov Form
Israil Madrimov is a former world light-middleweight champion with a career record of 10-1 (7 KOs) with 1 draw.
Madrimov turned professional in November 2018 and reeled off five straight knockout victories to start his career.
His momentum briefly stalled in July 2022 when his fight with Michel Soro had to be stopped in the third round due to a cut sustained by his opponent in a clash of heads.
That fight was ruled a draw, but Madrimov quickly got back to winning ways when he returned to action the following year.
He beat Raphael Igbokwe via unanimous decision, earning himself a world title fight in March 2024.
The 30-year-old knocked out Magomed Kurbanov in the fifth round to claim the vacant WBA light-middleweight title.
Madrimov then signed on for a huge unification clash with Terence Crawford last summer, and although he dropped a decision to ‘Bud’, his stock arguably grew thanks to an impressive performance.