Vergil Ortiz vs. Egidijus Kavaliauskas - August 14, 2021

[Enlightened-One]

That said, Ortiz Jr. might be a very exciting prospect and have enormous potential to claim ownership of one of the main titles at welterweight within the next three years or so, but we need to contain our excitement, because he hasn’t beaten any of the top dogs at 147lbs yet.

That's the case for more or less 99% of boxers..

Who did Errol Spence beat before he fought Brook?

Algieri? Bundu? Lo Greco? Van Heerden?

Were any of them top 10 at WW?

Of course, to a certain extent, you’re right.

However, Errol Spence Jr. earned his fearsome reputation prior to the Brook fight by becoming the first fighter to stop the likes of:

• Chris Algieri (a former world champion that's never been stopped by anyone else)
• Leonard Bundu (who had previously/recently gone the distance with Keith Thurman and has never been stopped by anyone else)
• Alejandro Barrera (defeated Juan Macias Montiel, who recently went the distance with Jermall Charlo)
• Chris van Heerden (never been stopped by anyone else)
• Phil Lo Greco (who had previously/recently gone the distance with Shawn Porter)
• Samuel Vargas

In 2015/16 Errol Spence Jr. was stopping fighters that none of his top-five world-rated peers could (i.e. Thurman, Porter etc.).

Therefore, I feel that the quality of Spence Jr’s six welterweight bouts/feats immediately preceding the IBF title-winning contest against Kell Brook surpasses Vergil Ortiz Jr’s six outings at 147lbs.

As the old adage goes: "Talent" is useless unless it’s proven…. And "potential" is useless unless it’s fulfilled!”.

I don’t feel that Vergil Ortiz Jr. will be given the opportunity to prove his “talent” or fulfil his “potential” any earlier than late 2022.

So no one can say for sure whether Vergil Ortiz Jr. is the real deal or not until he’s faced a legitimate world-rated opponent.

To be fair though, if you’d read my previous two posts in this thread, you would surely know that I expect big things from Ortiz Jr. during 2023 (and beyond).

[Enlightened-One]

"Ortiz Addresses 'Title Shot' Against Crawford, Pacquiao Or Spence"

Vergil Ortiz Jr. is well aware that based on the trajectory of events, it appears that he is unlikely to fight the aforementioned world champions in his weight class.

“Yes, sir,” Ortiz recently told the media when asked if he’s ready to fight Crawford. “I don’t even know what I have to do anymore [to earn a fight with Crawford]. I’m ready to fight him whenever.”

“I can’t fight the champions right now because Crawford is lining up with Shawn Porter, [Yordenis] Ugas and [Manny] Pacquiao are fighting each other, and Errol [Spence Jr.] can’t fight,

“They have legitimate excuses not to fight me. So as far as my next fight, it’s most likely not to be for a world title shot because the champions are preoccupied. So, we’re going to try and stay busy, get another fight in this year, and try to keep moving forward.”