Golden Boy boss Oscar De La Hoya plans on bringing Vergil Ortiz Jr. back for what is expected to be an easier fight for him against old ‘One Time’ Keith Thurman in October. This will be a Golden Boy – PBC-promoted event.
Vergil Jr.’s Return in October
Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) has been in back-to-back grueling fights against Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk in his last two fights. So, going up against the faded 36-year-old Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs) will be a step back in much-needed competition for Vergil Jr.
With the issues Ortiz Jr. had against Bohachuk and Madrimov, he easily could have lost both fights. The victory over Bohachuk last year was controversial, with many boxing fans viewing it as a gift for Vergil Jr. As for his win over Madrimov, he fought him coming off acute bronchitis when he fought him last February, yet Ortiz Jr. still took a bad beating from the former WBA junior middleweight champion.
Top 5 Opponent at 154
“He’s ready for everybody. Vergil Ortiz is Golden Boy’s next star. We believe in him 1,000 percent,” said De La Hoya to DAZN about Ortiz Jr. “We’re looking at getting him back in October against someone in the top five. He will be back very soon.”
Well, Oscar is a little off here by saying Vergil Jr. will be fighting a “top five” guy, because the former WBA and WBC welterweight champion Thurman is NOT ranked in the top five by any of the four sanctioning bodies at 154. Keith is ranked #8 IBF, #8 WBC, and #8 WBO at junior middleweight.
Thurman has no shot at beating Vergil Jr. At this late stage of Keith’s career, he has no business fighting a talent like Ortiz Jr. It’ll be interesting for fans to watch in terms of the spectacle, but this is a mismatch. Thurman is a fighter from a different era and is too old to be competing against a younger fighter like the 27-year-old Ortiz Jr.
A better fight for the fans would be a rematch between Ortiz Jr. and a healthy 100% version of Madrimov. That would be fun to see how Vergil Jr. deals with Madrimov when he’s not coming off a bad illness.
A Step Back in Competition
Thurman would be ranked higher if he weren’t so inactive. Thurman recently came off a three-year layoff, defeating second-tier fighter, Brock Jarvis by a third-round knockout on March 12th. If ‘One Time’ had beaten a top 15-ranked fighter, he’d likely have been pushed to the top five spot, but he obviously wasn’t crazy enough to try that due to his inactivity and advanced age.
Last Updated on 08/08/2025
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