FORT WORTH, Texas — One perfect right hand changed everything. Vergil Ortiz Jr. (24-0, 22 KOs) vaporized Erickson Lubin (27-3, 19 KOs) at 1:30 of Round 2, retaining his WBC interim 154-pound title and setting the table for a long-teased showdown with Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
Referee James Green stepped in as Lubin sagged on the ropes, out on his feet after Ortiz detonated a flush right and followed with a short burst. Green’s catch kept Lubin from hitting the canvas; the result was never in doubt.
‘There’s levels’
In the ring with DAZN’s Chris Mannix, Ortiz answered critics and called out Ennis on the spot:
“There were so many people saying I’m gonna get out-classed… he’s a great fighter, but there’s levels… We’re ready for the best.