Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Elimantas Stanionis Is Postponed Due To An Ortiz Jr. Injury
This article was updated with the press release from Golden Boy Promotions with regards to the nature of Virgil Ortiz Jr.’s injury.
LOS ANGELES, CA (March 29, 2023) – In preparation for his upcoming fight on April 29 in Arlington, Texas, Vergil Ortiz, Jr. has had to pull out of his main event versus Eimantas Stanionis for the WBA Regular Welterweight World Championship due to a flare-up with rhabdomyolysis. Ortiz was diagnosed in March 2022 with the serious condition which can cause permanent organ damage and can be potentially fatal. He is expected to make a full recovery and return to the ring later this year.
“Vergil works tirelessly to prepare for his fights and this is of course a huge disappointment for Golden Boy, him and his family,” said Chairman and CEO Oscar De La Hoya. “Despite this setback, I truly believe Vergil remains focused and will accomplish his goal of becoming a world champion this year and going on to become the top welterweight in the division.”
More information on the April 29 event will be announced shortly.
— Vergil Ortiz Jr. (@VergilOrtiz) March 30, 2023
Wishing Vergil a speedy recovery! Hope he is doing well. Tough sport and you never know what can happen.
Answering to a question whats next for me,at this moment i dont know,but im up for any big fight that i deserve. My team is working on the next move. Thnx for support my fans!— Eimantas Stanionis (@E_Stanionis) March 29, 2023
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As much as we are enjoying the great fights we have had so far and the announcements for even more intriguing match-ups in the summer, we have run into a string of postponements. The latest news broke late last night as Golden Boy Promotions’ own Vergil Ortiz Jr. (19-0) has apparently suffered an injury that will force him to postpone his WBA welterweight title fight against Elimantas Stanionis (14-0) to an unconfirmed date of late summer.
In the early morning hours, ESPN’s senior writer Mike Coppinger tweeted, “The Vergil Ortiz-Eimantas Stanionis welterweight fight scheduled for April 29 has been postponed after Oritz was forced to withdraw with an unspecified medical issue, sources told ESPN. This is the second postponement after Stanionis withdrew following an appendectomy in January.”
As Coppinger mentioned, this is the second postponement of the fight, and it could very well go down the same road as Josh Taylor vs. Jack Catteral, where the postponements added up and led to them going their separate ways. Let’s hope that isn‘t the case, as this is a match-up that many fight fans were looking forward to seeing.
As we await the official press release from Golden Boy Promotions, one has to wonder if Stanionis will move ahead with another fight in between or if he will wait until Ortiz Jr. is ready to return. It seems as if the new wave of citing an injury when it comes to boxers is titled “undisclosed.”
When will we see Ortiz Jr. back in the ring? Photo Credit: Golden Boy Promotions
There was a time when the fighter’s injuries were mentioned, giving the general public a lane to put their doctor hat on and put together their own diagnosis. I think promotional companies got tired of doing this and just left it as a general “undisclosed injury.” The problem is that it leaves it up to the imagination whether it’s an actual injury or not. There have been stories of injuries being made up in the past, so that certainly doesn’t help. Ultimately, I hope Ortiz Jr. can recover, and we get the fight in the late summer.
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