It was considered the toughest test of Vergil Ortiz Jr.’s career.
It ended just like every other fight.
Ortiz Jr. improved to 17-0 with 17 notouts, stopping Maurice Hooker in the seventh round in Saturday’s card main event at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
After sucking himself down to 140 pounds for years, Hooker made his official debut at 147 pounds. The prevailing view was that Hooker would prove to be a durable rival who could withstand the vicious power of 22-year-old Ortiz. But it didn’t take long for that power to overwhelm Hooker’s psyche – just a few rounds of different kinds of fighter for Ortiz to realize.
Ortiz and Hooker meet in the middle of the ring and match it with the opening bell to see who is the most difficult. Both threw punches with poor intentions, but Ortiz demonstrated that their punches had more of an impact.
The fight seemed to be over quickly as Ortiz pushed Hooker into the ropes constantly and buried heavy leather in his face and torso. But Hooker made the change in the fourth round, using his jab and getting away from his opponent’s shots. But Hooker is known to have a heart as big as his home state of Texas, and so the former WBO 140-pound champion found himself back in the sixth round shelling. “Mighty Moe” proved durable as he punched the head, but Ortiz’s commitment to working the body proved to be the difference.
“He was showing me that he was durable and could definitely take a punch,” Ortiz said. “He was smart, but I knew what I had to do. I knew it wouldn’t be the head, so I had to go to the body.”
All were Ortiz in the sixth round as they placed heavy hooks in Hooker’s torso. Eventually, the punishment caused the pounding cavalry and the hooker to close back. But Ortiz did not allow him to retreat and threatened to punch him in the back.
Blood was in the water and the shark feasted.
Ortiz immediately met Hooker in the middle of the ring in the middle of Round 7 and threw him with body shots. Hooker was hurt but refused to go back and fired back. Ortiz landed a jab on the body and a hook. Hooker followed with a right hand, but then immediately spun in pain and hit the knee as the referee counted him to the 36-round mark. Hooker later stated that he broke his hand and was forced to leave.
Somehow, Ortiz is now a key player in the 147-pound division, and he wants a title fight.
“I’m ready for a title shot and whatever’s going to give me a chance,” Ortiz said with champions Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford ringside. “I’d love that opportunity to fight Crawford, one of the best two fighters in the world. I’m looking at you, Bud. I don’t care if I’m ready or not, I want that fight.”
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