Vergil Ortiz Jr. on rhabdomyolysis and dangers of over-training

Vergil Ortiz Jr. is one of the few athletes that’s been unfortunate enough to go through rhabdomyolysis, but his diagnosis put his mind at ease. 

‘Rhabdomyolysis’ is a long and complicated word to pronounce, and it’s hell on your body if you’re one of the few athletes unlucky enough to suffer from this condition. Vergil Ortiz Jr. gained this knowledge the hard way.

Ortiz (18-0, 18 KOs) is one of the best young welterweight boxers in the world. The 24-year-old from Grand Prairie, Texas, was ready to battle fellow undefeated fighter Michael McKinson in March, but Ortiz was forced to withdraw from the contest a week before the fight.

When the news hit the wire that Ortiz had to be hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis, many boxing fans had to search Google for an understanding of this ailment.

If you’re an Iowa football fan like this former Hawkeye, you know what this condition is. In 2011, several Iowa football players were hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis after a series of grueling workouts.

To summarize, rhabdomyolysis is when the body is pushed to the physical brink, and muscles in the body break down, releasing dangerous proteins that can be toxic to the kidneys, liver, and other organs.

Ortiz sensed something wasn’t right with him for a short while. He chalked it up to fatigue and the stresses of being an elite boxer, but Ortiz realized this wasn’t just tiredness as his body started to fail him.

“It was like two weeks before the fight was supposed to happen, and my body just kept going downhill, and it wasn’t getting any better,” Ortiz said to FanSided.

When Ortiz received the diagnosis from the doctor, he had no idea what rhabdomyolysis was.

“I never even heard of that before,” Ortiz said. “When I saw it on the paper, I was like, dude, I can’t even say that,” Ortiz joked.

Watch Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Michael McKinson on Saturday, Aug. 6, on DAZN at 9 p.m. ET

Ortiz knew it was the correct diagnosis based on his symptoms. He spent the night in the hospital and was told to refrain from all physical activity for three weeks to aid in recovery.

Ortiz was disappointed that his fight was off but was also happy to have rhabdomyolysis and not something worse.

“But you know, I’ll tell you what, I was kind of happy that it was something, you know, because if it wasn’t anything that they couldn’t figure out, then it’s just like, is it just in my head?” Ortiz said. “It would have been even worse.”

Ortiz’s illness caused him anxiety. Not knowing what was wrong brought out the pessimist in Ortiz. He feared something dire could be wrong. He thought that a severe illness could derail his boxing career.

“I was like, is my body, like, did it have enough in me?” Ortiz questioned. “Am I still gonna be able to continue with my boxing career or anything like that? So there’s definitely a lot of other stuff.”

Rhabdomyolysis can be serious if not treated, but it’s temporary and something that can be fixed, which gave Ortiz solace.

Many people jumped to speculations about what caused Ortiz to come down with rhabdomyolysis. Was his father pushing him too hard? Was he struggling to make weight?

It turns out it was none of the above.

Ortiz spent so much time in the gym preparing for his next fight, but the dates kept moving, which meant he never received a break.

“I had been training for a fight since like October because we were supposed to fight in the beginning of the year, like January 2, almost, or something like that,” Ortiz said. “So I had been training since October.

“And when I trained, I trained like pretty hardcore, you know. So I had six months of that going on. And I think by the time March just came around, even sort of like February, I was feeling a little tired. It was just too much.”

Ortiz is fine now and ready to fight McKinson on Saturday, Aug. 6, at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, TX. Ever the professional, Ortiz is focused on this fight, but dreams of becoming a world champion are never far from his thoughts.

Errol Spence Jr. and Terence Crawford hold all the division titles. Ortiz and the rest of the world are waiting for a unification bout to take place, so the division’s future can take added shape. He would love to fight the winner of that matchup.

“That’s really the ultimate goal,” Ortiz said. “If that’s the only way I can get a world title shot, then I’ll do it. My ultimate goal is just to be a world champion in this weight class. That’s my goal.”

There are no guarantees Spence vs. Crawford gets made, but Ortiz does see a slight favorite in that hypothetical matchup.

“And I mean, as far as I think who’s gonna win? I think Crawford has a slight edge, and just very slight,” Ortiz said. “It’s not like a big one where I think he’s gonna blow him out or anything like that. I still think Errol could beat him.”

An Ortiz vs. Crawford or Spence bout would be a mega fight, but Ortiz still has work to do against a tough McKinson, but at least that date is almost here, and Ortiz is completely healthy.