Ortiz Sr. Disputes Alcatraz Fight Claims: Promoters Insist Murtazaliev Accepted Turki Alalshikh’s Offer, Citing June 28th Date

Vergil Ortiz Sr. denies that any negotiations have taken place between son, WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Jr. and IBF 154-lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev for a summer fight. Ortiz Sr. says Vergil Jr’s hands are still healing and they might need surgery.

Alcatraz Event

Bakhram’s promoters at Main Event say Turki Alalshikh offered them a fight against Vergil Jr. on June 28th on Alcatraz, and they agreed to the offer. It’s hard to believe Turki would offer Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) the fight without speaking to Ortiz Jr. about the clash.

If you’re Vergil Ortiz Jr., a fight against Murtazaliev would be a nightmarish one for him, because he’s a much bigger puncher with either hand and would potentially make a mess of his career before he’s even won his first world title.

We saw the damage that ‘Little GGG’ Israil Madrimov did to Vergil Jr’s face last month in their fight on the February 22nd card in Riyadh. The physical toll Ortiz Jr. would take against Murtazaliev would be far more severe than his previous two fights, which were pretty bad. The style that has worked so well for Vergil Jr. when he was fighting at 147 is causing him to get chewed up at 154, now he’s going up against rugged killers designed for this type of fighting approach.

Ortiz Jr. looked like he’d come off a battlefield and taken the worst. Before that, Vergil Jr. was beat up in his questionable 12-round majority decision win over WBC interim 154-lb champion Serhii Bohachuk on August 10th last year in Las Vegas. There are still boxing fans talking about that match, feeling the less popular Bohachuk was robbed of a victory by the Nevada judges.

Now that Vergil Jr. is out of the running for the Alcatraz event on June 28th, we’ll see who Turki can find willing to take on Murtazaliev. He destroyed former WBO 154-lb champion Tim Tszyu on October 19th last year, dropping him four times in a third-round knockout in Orlando, Florida. After that performance, likely few takers are willing to face Bakhram and receive similar treatment.

Fight Denied

Vergil Ortiz Sr: “Good for him buddy and wish you guys success except vs us 😂, but Vergil never been in negotiations with you. Post those emails, contract, and the one sign cause we all know when you agree you signed it. Use someone else’s name plz,” said Vergil Sr. on X.

Main Events: “Sure can. Everything I said is true. Bakhram is the champion. He accepted the challenge. The date offered was June 28 at Alcatraz. Sorry, Vergil won’t be there. Hope he gets well soon.”

Vergil Ortiz Sr: “Well buddy news for you. It seems it’s just you guys trying to use my son’s name. How can my son negotiate when his HANDS are nowhere [near] heal and might require surgery. One thing I’m not is a liar. I can swear on all my children on a Bible. Can you?”

Main Events: “Actually, Main Events is Bakhram’s promoter. Turki’s people offered the fight. Bakhram’s team discussed the terms, accepted them, and thought we had a deal on Friday. This morning we were told that your team turned the fight down.”