Photo credit to Stacey Verbeek
Two of Dallas Texas' best boxers will meet on March 20th at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, a city west of Dallas, Texas, home of the Dallas Cowboys.
Maurice "Mighty Mo" Hooker (27-1-3, 18 KO's) is from Dallas, Texas and grew up in the tough neighborhoods of South Oak Cliff and Pleasant Grove. He is still ranked No. 5 in the junior welterweight division by ESPN and is the former WBO Junior Welterweight champion of the world.
Vergil Ortiz, Jr. (16-0, 16 KO's), a top welterweight contender is from Grand Prairie, a suburb of Dallas, Texas and he has moved his way up to be ranked No. 8 in the welterweight division by ESPN.
The fight will be hosted live at the Dickies Arena and will be shown all over the world streaming on DAZN and is put together by Oscar DeLa Hoya and GoldenBoy promotions.
This will be the first fight of this caliber where the former WBO junior welterweight world champion, Hooker, and Ortiz, a rising undefeated star in the welterweight division, who is ranked #1 by the WBO, will face off against each other and are from the same town, Dallas, Texas.
Ortiz, who is not only a top contender and undefeated welterweight, he has a perfect knockout record. He has a lot on the line as he faces Hooker, the former junior welterweight champion of the world, who has just moved up to welterweight division.
Both fighters come from top boxing camps, where Hooker trains along side Terrence Craword (37-0, 28 KO's), the current WBO welterweight champion of the world, and Ortiz is trained by Robert Garcia, who was voted Trainer of the Year by The Ring magazine in 2011.
At the press conference today, Oscar De La Hoya said "“Both fighters are great fighters, they’re putting everything on the line, but when you think about Vergil Ortiz, he has to be the best fighter out there at 147 or any weight class for that matter. Vergil Ortiz and I’ve said this all along, he’ll beat anybody at 147 and right now.
He went on to say “You take a look at [Maurice] Hooker’s fight with [Jose] Ramirez. It was an action-packed great fight. He’s going to present to Vergil different movements, different footwork, speed, mannerisms, they’re totally different than what Vergil has been used to fighting in the past."
De La Hoya also said “Maurice Hooker presents a totally unique different style. He’s fast, he’s explosive, he’s very elusive. It’s going to be very different for Vergil, and the question is, will he [ Vergil ] pass that test?"
At the virtual press conference today, Ortiz and Hooker said the following:
Vergil Ortiz, Jr
“It’s the toughest fight of my career because I’ve known Hooker since my amateur days. He’s always been a great boxer,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr. I’ve carried some of those feelings from the amateur days until now, and he also has a long reach, he’s tall, and he hits hard. He’s been a world champion before. You can’t be a world champion without being a good boxer. He’s definitely a great boxer, Ortiz Jr said of Hooker. I mean, it’s not even our style. It comes down to competitiveness. We are both very competitive. If I land a hit, he’s going to want to come and show that he’s there too. He’s going to want to come and hit me, and I think it’s going to be a domino effect. It’s going to turn into a war. It means a lot just fighting in front of my friends and family, it’s going to be an honor. I’m ready to put on a great event. That’s what I am, a showman. I don’t like to be in boring fights. I don’t like to watch boring fights, and I’m not going to be in one. Every fight, I promise to give a good show."
Maurice "Mighty Mo" Hooker
“To be the best you’ve got to fight the best,” said Hooker. Look at his record, 16-0 with 16 knockouts. Look at what he's done. He’s a good boxer, good movement, and he’s up and coming. For me, I feel like I got to do what I got to do. I got to get in the ring, be smart, and do what I do best. I know Vergil is young, he’s hungry and he’s coming with everything. I just got to be ready. I can’t lose focus in this fight. I got my eyes on the prize.
Working with Terence [Crawford] is like working with family, we all look out for each other. I feel very comfortable with them being in my corner, and with the game plan that they’ve got, I love it. I’m going to go and show the new Maurice Hooker. When I fought Jose it wasn’t my night, but this night it’s going to be a good one. I want to prove that I can still be a world champion at 147, I still have it,” said Hooker. We’re both from Dallas, Texas, we both fought in the amateurs. We both did good things in the amateurs in Dallas. It’s a dream come true to fight another guy from Texas. A fight like this, we give kids hopes and dreams one day.”
The Undercard includes local Dallas fighters as well, including:
Hector Valdez (13-0, 8 KOs) of Dallas, Texas who will face Alberto Torres (11-3-3, 4 KOs) of Sacramento, California in an eight-round super bantamweight battle.
Tristan Kalkreuth (7-0, 6 KO's) of Duncanville, Texas will return in a six-round fight in the cruiserweight division.
In the Co-Main Event, Arslanbek “Lion” Makhmudov (11-0, 11 KOs) will make his United States debut in a 10-round defense of his NABF heavyweight title.
Two-division champion Anabel “Avispa” Ortiz (31-3, 4 KOs) of Mexico City, Mexico and former flyweight champion Seniesa “Superbad” Estrada (19-0, 8 KOs) of East Los Angeles, California will meet in an epic 10-round fight for Ortiz’s WBA Minimumweight World Title.
Luis “Matador” Hernandez (21-0, 19 KOs) of Chihuahua, Mexico will participate in a 10-round super lightweight battle against Alex Martin (15-3, 6 KOs) of Chicago, Illinois.
George Rincon (10-0, 7 KOs) of Dallas, Texas will return in an eight-round super lightweight fight.
Oscar Acevedo (7-0) of Garden City, Kansas and James “Crunch Time” Willkins (9-1-0, 6 KOs) of Staten Island, New York will meet in an eight-round super featherweight bout.