Vergil Ortiz Jr. passed his hardest test to date with flying colors.
The undefeated 22-year-old remained perfect by stopping Maurice Hooker in the seventh round Saturday night with a right hook that made the former world champion take a knee and not be able to continue.
The stoppage came a round after Ortiz dropped Hooker with an overhand right followed by a flurry of punches at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, and live on DAZN. With the victory, Ortiz improves to 17-0 with all of his victories coming by the way of knockout. He's never been past the seventh round.
"It definitely gives me more confidence," Ortiz said of the win. "I believe in myself more that I'm ready for a title shot, whoever is willing to give me an opportunity."
Ortiz said that with IBF/WBC welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr. and WBO welterweight champion Terence Crawford in attendance.
"I would love that opportunity," Ortiz told DAZN's Chris Mannix of a possible world title shot against Crawford, Hooker's stablemate. "Crawford is possibly the No. 1 pound-for-pound boxer in the world — definitely Top 2 — so if they give me that opportunity, I'm looking at you, Bud, I'm looking at you. If you want to make this happen, I'm more than willing to do it.
"I don't care if I'm ready or not," he added, "I want that fight."
After a pretty even four rounds, Ortiz figured out Hooker's counterpunching in the fifth and made the Dallas native taste the canvas in the sixth with an overhand right followed by a barrage of punches. That set the stage for the seventh-round stoppage from which Hooker claimed to have injured his hand from.
Here's how the entire Ortiz vs. Hooker card went.
Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Maurice Hooker fight card
- Vergil Ortiz Jr. def. Maurice Hooker via seventh-round TKO; Welterweight
- Seniesa Estrada def. Anabel Ortiz by unanimous decision (100-89, 100-89, 99-90) to become WBA women’s minimumweight title
- Marcelino Lopez def. Jairo Lopez by fifth-round KO; Welterweight
- Tristan Kalkreuth def. Dustin Long by first-round KO; Cruiserweight