Vergil Ortiz Jr. will reportedly fight welterweight contender Eimantas Stanionis at an undetermined venue in Texas on April 29, 2023.
Ortiz Jr. was originally scheduled to fight Stanionis on March 18, 2023 in Texas, but Stanionis underwent an emergency appendectomy in early January. As a result, the fight has been delayed approximately six weeks.
Ortiz Jr. will enter the welterweight showdown with a record of 19-0 with 19 knockouts. Like many other fighters, the Texas native has been less active since the COVID-19 pandemic shook up life around the world. After fighting three times in 2018 and four times in 2019, he fought twice in 2020 and once in 2021. In this time period, he also battled Rhabdomyolysis, a life-threatening condition caused by muscle breakdown and muscle death. Despite this medical diagnosis, he returned in August 2022 to knock out Michael McKinson in the ninth round.
Stanionis will also enter the welterweight showdown with a perfect record. In his last outing, he scored a split-decision victory against the previously unbeaten Radzhab Butaev. Since then, Stanionis has remained out of the ring in hopes of landing a shot at the WBA Welterweight Championship held by Errol Spence Jr.
Spence Jr. is currently expected to fight Keith Thurman in a non-title, super welterweight bout. After the bout, the welterweight champion will have approximately two months to work out a deal with the winner of the Stanionis-Ortiz Jr. bout.
