Promoter Eddie Hearn is picking Vergil Ortiz Jr. to defeat former WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu in their fight on August 3rd in Los Angeles, California.
Ortiz vs. Tszyu are fighting on the undercard of Terence Crawford vs. Israil Madrimov in a loaded card put together by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh.
Ortiz Jr.’s Advantages
Hearn feels that the 26-year-old Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) will have an advantage over Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) due to him fighting this Saturday night against Thomas Dulorme, and then having the support from his fans on August 3rd in Los Angeles.
Tszyu, 29, is coming off a 12-round split loss to Sebastian Fundora on March 30th in Las Vegas, and we don’t know how that defeat will affect him.
Tszyu took a lot of shots in that fight from the high work rate of the 6’5 1/2″ Fundora, and he might be the same confident fighter that he’d been before that match.
Tim wanted a rematch with Fundora, but he’s out with an injury. When he does return, it could be to fight either Errol Spence or the winner of the Crawford vs. Madrimov fight.
Hearn’s Comments on the Fight
“These fights are fights that His Excellency [Turki Alalshikh] has requested. We all push fights to him, all promotional companies. Tim Tszyu vs. Vergil Ortiz, that’s his fight,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to the media about their August 3rd fight in Los Angeles.
“He chose that fight, and I think it’s one of the best fights in the sport. I really like Tim Tszyu. I think he’s a really entertaining fighter. I think Vergil Ortiz is a brilliant fight. He struggled a little bit with momentum with the illnesses and the injuries and the missed weight.
“He’s fighting this Saturday [against Thomas Dulorme]. I think that’s really going to help him going into August 3rd. I just favor Vergil Ortiz [over Tszyu] in a 50-50 fight being in Los Angeles. He’s going to have huge support there as well, but Tim can really fight, and he’s brilliant to watch,” said Hearn.
