Vergil Ortiz is set to take on Israil Madrimov for the WBC Interim World Welterweight title at ‘The Last Crescendo’ on February 22nd.
Ortiz will be looking to make his first defence of the interim title, having defeated Serhii Bohachuk for the belt in August 2024. Ortiz and Madrimov will meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia as part of the stacked event headlined by Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol.
The knockout artist who has 21 stoppages in 22 wins will be looking to hand Madrimov his second consecutive loss, after the Uzbek fighter lost to Terence Crawford in his last outing.
Should Ortiz be victorious on February 22nd, he may begin to look to names like Crawford himself. However, there is one opponent that Ortiz has shown little desire to face.
Vergil Ortiz gives no credit to Jake Paul
It appeared as if a rumoured bout between Jake Paul and Canelo Alvarez may come to fruition, as it was reported the two were close to striking a deal. However, the fight has since fizzled with Paul showing frustration about the cancelled Alvarez fight.
Alvarez will now be taking on Crawford instead.
When asked about his thoughts on the fight by IFL TV, Ortiz was not eager to give props to the influencer-boxer.
Ortiz was asked if he thought a fight between Alvarez and Paul was good for boxing, to which he laughed and said “no”.
The interviewer then asked the interim champion, “Do you think maybe it’s making a bit of a mockery of the sport?”, to which Ortiz replied, “It is, he’s [Paul] not a boxer”.
Jake Paul bout not in the plan for Vergil Ortiz
When asked by IFL TV if a Paul fight is something that he would entertain in the future, Ortiz did not seem keen on the idea.
Ortiz responded by saying, “First of all, we’re not in the same weight class… I just said weight classes exist for a reason.”
The American would then go on to say, “If he was in my weight, and he wanted to take the fight, I don’t know. I’d have an internal battle with myself.”
Ortiz would add that he ultimately thinks that a fight with Paul would not happen in the future, largely down to the weight discrepancy.
Paul last fought Mike Tyson in November of 2024, as he took on one of the greatest heavyweight boxers of all time.
The YouTube star weighed in at 227 lbs for the fight in Texas as the bout was contested at heavyweight.
The lightest Paul has ever weighed in for a bout was 183.75 lbs, while Ortiz has never fought above the super welterweight division.