Interim WBC junior middleweight champion Virgil Ortiz Jr. will face a much different test in his title defense against technically adept Israeli Israel Madrimov on February 22 in Riyadh. The battle will take place in 58 days.

The powerful 26-year-old Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) defeated the power player Serhiy Bohachuk By a questionable 12 round majority decision in his last fight on August 10. Bohachuk dropped Ortiz Jr. twice in the fight.

Virgil Jr. outmaneuvered the stronger Bohachuk throughout the fight but earned a controversial decision by riding his bike in the final four rounds to earn the victory.

Ortiz Jr. did not choose to give Bohachuk a rematch to clear up the controversy, which is understandable considering the amount of punishment he took in that fight. Bohachuk had Virgil at his own game, outsmarting him and forcing him to move in the final quarter of the contest.

Virgil Jr. vs. Bohachuk Punch stats

Ortiz Jr.: 265 of 732 punches, 43%.
– Bohachuk: 225 out of 817, 36%.

Ortiz Jr. wilted under Bohachuk’s power, took a lot of facial damage, was hurt in the later rounds, and was given a timeout to repair his gloves. He apparently used that to recover.

It will be a different kind of fight against Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KO), who is faster, more technical and equal to Bohachuk’s power in his right hand. Virgil Jr.’s best chance to win this fight is pressure because he doesn’t have the skills that Madrimov does.

Madrimov, the WBA junior middleweight champion, will likely be more aggressive than he was in his loss to Terence Crawford, but he won’t use the attacking pressure that Bohachuk was displaying. This is not his style. However, Madrimov has the strength and timing to hurt Ortiz Jr. if he tries to overpower him as he has with most of his opponents in his eight-year professional career.

Grudge match

Virgil Jr. and Madrimov have different views on how their sparring has gone in the past. In an interview with Fight Hub TV, Madrimov, 29, said he wasn’t “100%” while sparring, and said Virgil Jr. was just an “ordinary” boxer.

Ortiz Jr. said Combat Center TV Regarding Madrimov’s comments, he said: “He is an ordinary boxer, and we just went to play with him.” To me, that’s like throwing shade.

Madrimov: “There’s nothing really to say. We had a good sparring. He’s athletic, he’s fast. I was helping him with his fight preparations at the time. We shared experiences. I don’t know what to tell you

Former amateur star Madrimov lost a 12-round unanimous decision to Terence Crawford in his last fight on August 3 in Los Angeles. The scores were 115-113, 116-112 and 115-113.

Many boxing fans felt afterward that Madrimov had come close to beating Crawford and would have won if he turned up the heat in the championship rounds. He made Crawford, 37, look his age in that fight.