Top welterweight prospect Vergil Ortiz Jr. remains undefeated and keeps his knockout streak intact beating former super lightweight champion Maurice Hooker by seventh-round stoppage.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. has only been amongst the professional ranks for five years but has made a major impact since making the jump. He came into the fight with a perfect 16-0 record beating all his opponents by knockout or stoppage only going past the sixth round twice in his career.
This fight was his first against a former world champion and the third against an opponent that has challenged for a world championship.
In May 2019, Vergil Ortiz became the first-ever WBA Gold Welterweight champion winning the belt by beating Antonio Orozco via 6th round knockout. He successfully defended the title in subsequent bouts against Brad Solomon and Samuel Vargas.
This fight was Maurice Hooker’s second in the welterweight division following an eight-year stint in the super lightweight division. In June 2018, he became WBO Super Lightweight champion winning the vacant belt after beating Terry Flanagan by split decision.
Hooker went on to successfully defend his title against Alex Saucedo and Mikkel LesPierre. In July 2019, Hooker faced Jose Carlos Ramirez in a unification bout with Ramirez’s WBC Super Lightweight title also on the line. Ramirez walked away with the win by stoppage with the fight being called off after raining a barrage of punches on Hooker in the sixth round handing him the first loss of his career.
In his welterweight debut, Maurice Hooker beat Uriel Perez by 1st round knockout. He was scheduled to fight Regis Prograis last year on April 17th but the fight was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
This fight took place at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas the home state of both Vergil Ortiz and Maurice Hooker with both fighters hailing from Dallas, Texas.
From start to finish, this was a thrilling fight. Both fighters exchanged jabs and power shots, dishing out and taking extraordinary punishment. While Ortiz may have been landing the more meaningful punches, Hooker did damage, giving him the most competitive fight of his career thus far.
As the rounds went on, Hooker threw jabs and Ortiz went to the body. Then, Ortiz hit Hooker with a body shot that looked to rattle him. He was able to throw a barrage of punches, as Hooker went defensive without returning fire.
Towards the end of round six, Ortiz dropped Maurice with a shot to the liver and a straight right hand to the head. Hooker was able to survive Ortiz’s onslaught, but he didn’t look good entering the seventh round. After going down and appearing to have suffered a hand injury, Ortiz Jr. was declared the winner.