If Vergil Ortiz Jr. beats Egidijus Kavaliauskas he will have earned a shot against Terence 'Bud' Crawford, believes Sergio Mora.
The former light middleweight champion thinks that it will then be time for the 23-year-old Mexican for a chance to prove his credentials against a pound-for-pound contender, in this instance the 33-year-old WBO welterweight fighter.
Kavaliauskas and Ortiz fight on 14 August for the WBO international title, and if the youngster negotiates that obstacle then he will be on course for a title challenge.
Speaking on JABS as part of the DAZN Boxing Show, Mora explained: “I think Virgil Ortiz Jr. is ready for a Bud Crawford and a pound-for-pound challenge like this.
“And I might explain why: Ortiz - 17 wins 17 knockouts. We know he has the power. We know he has the team. He has Robert Garcia, one of the best trainers in boxing in his corner. But he has the maturity, that's what's been impressing me, and he has maturity on the championship level.
“That's the only question that I needed to find out from Ortiz Jr. Can he do it versus a champion? And he did it against the former champion in Maurice Hooker, who he pretty much destroyed, he walked down. He was cutting off the ring. Hooker fought an excellent fight. I mean, it was competitive. But was he winning rounds? I don't think he really was.
“Crawford on the other hand, the only thing he has similar to Hooker is the size, the reach advantage, that length, they have the same trainer. They have the same stablemate. There's no more questions there. Crawford, I think respects Virgil Ortiz and what he can do and the size advantage is going to be something as well.
“So the power, the size, the experience, the maturity, he brings all that to the table. Yeah, I think he's ready for Crawford.”
Despite just being 23, Mora said that Ortiz had done enough to earn a chance if he believed the risk was worth taking.
“The resume is there,” he said.
“Now it's time to step up with the big dogs and if the team of Ortiz thinks he's ready for it, and the fighter himself thinks he's ready for it, let the young men rumble. “