Vergil Ortiz Jr. claimed a dominant win against Erickson Lubin at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, on Saturday, November 8. The unbeaten interim WBC super welterweight champion retained his title by second-round TKO.
The referee stepped in and called an end to the fight as Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs) poured punches while keeping Lubin (27-3, 19 KOs), who appeared out on his feet, on the ropes. The official time of the stoppage was 1:30 of the round.
With the victory, the Grand Prairie, Texas native Ortiz made the second successful defense of his belt. Former title challenger Lubin of Orlando, Florida, fell short in his latest attempt to claim the strap.
“There wasn’t much to evaluate – I just capitalized on his mistakes,” Ortiz said. “I took as much information as I could and used it. The adjustments I made in the second round were to just be cautious. I’m patient.”
“I feel people think I’m just a come-forward fighter. Yeah, I’m a come-forward fighter – I love the fight. That’s why I’m in boxing. But you have to be smart too, and I can be smart when I want. I kind of felt I would dominate Lubin, but I just had to believe in myself, and that’s what I did. There were so many people saying I was going to get gassed or that he was going to knock me out. Look, he’s a great fighter, but there are levels to this.”
After the fight, Vergil Ortiz Jr. went face-to-face with Jaron “Boots” Ennis. The two fighters are expected to square off in 2026.
“This win motivated me a lot,” Ortiz said. “We’re ready for the best – we’re going to fight the best. Boots, come over here!”
On Ortiz vs Lubin undercard
The co-feature between Darius Fulghum (14-1-1, 12 KOs) of El Paso, Texas, and David Stevens (15-2-1, 10 KOs) of Reading, Pennsylvania, was ruled a majority draw. After 10 rounds at super middleweight, one judge scored the fight 96-94 for Fulghum, while the other two judges scored it 95-95.
Among other Ortiz vs Lubin results, Amari Jones (15-0, 13 KOs) of Oakland, California, made a successful Golden Boy debut, defeating Shady Gamhour (14-3, 9 KOs) of Pensacola, Florida, by third-round TKO. Jones knocked his opponent down twice near the end of the round. The middleweight bout was stopped at 2:54 of the round.
Also, Joshua Edwards (5-0, 5 KOs) of Houston, Texas, dominated Las Vegas native Zeno Vooris (5-2, 5 KOs) en route to a third-round TKO victory. The heavyweight bout was stopped at 2:34 of the round. The referee halted the fight after a ringside official – either the ringside doctor or a representative from the Texas Department of Licensing and Regulation (TDLR) – ordered the contest stopped.
Kicking off the telecast, Swedish-born Robin Safar (19-0, 13 KOs) of Las Vegas defeated Derick Miller Jr. (18-1, 10 KOs) of Willmore, Michigan, by unanimous decision. After 10 rounds at cruiserweight, the judges scored it 99-90, 99-90, and 98-91.
On Ortiz vs Lubin prelims
Atop the prelims, Eric Priest (16-0-1, 8 KOs) of Wichita Falls, Texas, and Esneiker Correa (16-6-3, 14 KOs) of Venezuela fought to a split draw. After eight rounds at middleweight, one judge scored the fight 79-73 in favor of Priest, another scored it 77-75 for Correa, and the third judge scored it 76-76.
Also, Javier Meza (5-0, 2 KOs) of Amarillo, Texas, defeated Joshua Garcia (3-5-1, 2 KOs) of El Paso, Texas, by unanimous decision at super lightweight. After six rounds, the judges scored it 59-55, 58-56, and 58-56.
In the event opener, Samuel Castellanos (4-0, 3 KOs) of Gilroy, California, defeated Ricardo Elizalde (0-2) of Tulsa, Oklahoma, by second-round TKO. The welterweight bout was stopped at the request of Elizalde’s corner at 1:55 into the round.