Vergil Ortiz Jr. on growth from ‘Mean Machine’ bout

Vergil Ortiz Jr. faced some adversity in his last bout against Egidijus Kavaliauskas, but he has watched it and grown in the process. 

Even the best boxers show some vulnerability in the ring. After all, they’re human despite their incredible performances. In August, some were surprised when undefeated welterweight phenom Vergil Ortiz Jr. appeared hurt by a shot from Egidijus Kavaliauskas.

It’s all part of boxing. No boxer, no matter how prolific, can traverse their professional career without taking some damage. It goes with the territory, but fans become dismayed when seemingly invincible boxers look mortal even for a brief moment.

Ortiz (18-0, 18 KOs) stopped Kavaliauskas, better known as the ‘Mean Machine,’ in round 8 via TKO, but many focused on round 2. Ortiz was momentarily stunned by two Kavaliauskas’ uppercuts. His legs looked a bit wobbly, and the two threw down in the remaining seconds of the round.

Ortiz quickly recovered and dominated the rest of the fight, but the sight of him looking hurt shocked some observers. Ortiz had to watch the contest a couple of times to fully comprehend that moment.

“The first time I was watching it as a fan,” Ortiz told FanSided. “The first thing I took away was like damn, that was a good fight. And then the times after that, then you know I just started looking at ways that I could have done better just to really sharpen up my boxing skills as a whole.”

Ortiz admits that Kavaliauskas nailed him with a great shot but feels he wasn’t hurt.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. fights Michael McKinson at the Galen Center in Los Angeles, CA, on Mar. 19 and can be viewed on DAZN

“He definitely got me with the hit, but it wasn’t like I was all over the place or anything like that,” Ortiz said. “Pay attention to maybe like not even 10 seconds, you know, after I got hit, I mean, not even 10 seconds, dude. I had my hands up the entire time. I was trying to keep him out. In my opinion, I think I handled it pretty well. I think if it was anyone else ‘Mean Machine’ would have gotten them out of there.”

As Ortiz stated, he made it through the turbulent moment without hitting the canvas and came back with a fury in the remaining rounds. Kavaliauskas had a nice moment in the fight, but it evaporated quickly as Ortiz showed his grit. It’s moments like those that will allow the 23-year-old Ortiz to grow into a champion.

“I think I think it’s very valuable,” Ortiz said. “We’re in boxing. We’re gonna get hit. Just to know that that’s kind of how my reaction is I’m able to keep myself under composure just gives me even more confidence.”

Ortiz has a lot to feel confident about. He’s undefeated and sports a perfect knockout rating going into his Mar. 19 matchup with Michael McKinson. McKinson (21-0, 2 KOs) is also undefeated but lacks name recognition. The U.K. product has never fought in the states and possesses a low KO rating of nine percent.

However, we’ve seen upsets in the past, although it’s unlikely McKinson gets the better of Ortiz. McKinson is a southpaw who will give Ortiz some rounds and experience against an unorthodox style.

Ortiz vs. McKinson takes place at L.A.’s Galen Center, where Ortiz is sure to enjoy the home country crowd advantage. Ortiz used to be trained by Robert Garcia but elected to go a different route. Many believe Ortiz split because Garcia elected to corner another fighter when Ortiz fought Kavaliauskas.

Reports from ESPN suggested that Ortiz would be trained by Eddy Reynoso, Canelo Alvarez’s trainer. Ortiz admitted that he trained in their camp for a bit but that he decided to follow the guidance of his father paired with Manny Robles for a multitude of reasons.

Ortiz denied ESPN’s initial report and would like people to take him at his word from now on.

“I think it’s a thing of the past,” explained Ortiz. “I really don’t have a comment on that anymore. It happened. It happened. I think from now on, you know, people kind of understand like it, whatever is true is only true if I say so.”

Ortiz is an exciting boxer to watch and has a bright future. Anticipate Ortiz’s upward mobility regardless of who’s in his corner.