-
Mike Coppinger, ESPN
A junior middleweight fight between former champion Tim Tszyu and Vergil Ortiz Jr. is being planned for Aug. 3 in L.A., sources tell ESPN.
Ortiz must first defeat major underdog Thomas Dulorme on Saturday and emerge uninjured in a bout that will serve as the co-feature on a card headlined by a junior welterweight clash between Jose Ramirez and Rances Barthelemy in Fresno, California.
Tszyu-Ortiz shapes up as one of the best action matchups in all of boxing, a 154-pound bout between two of the sport’s most entertaining fighters.
Tszyu, the son of Hall of Fame boxer Kostya Tszyu, is ESPN’s No. 2 junior middleweight while Ortiz is No. 7.
The fight will be part of the stacked Terence Crawford-Israil Madrimov undercard, an event presented by Riyadh Season under His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, the chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority.
Tszyu-Ortiz joins the previously reported Issac Cruz-Jose Valenzuela junior welterweight title fight and Andy Ruiz-Jarrell Miller heavyweight bout on the undercard.
Tszyu (24-1, 17 KOs) suffered his first loss in March, a split-decision vs. Sebastian Fundora in one of the bloodiest fights in recent memory. Tszyu, a 29-year-old Australian, suffered a deep gash on his hairline in Round 2 following an accidental elbow, a cut that affected his vision the remainder of the bout.
Tszyu was set to fight Keith Thurman and was forced to adjust to the 6-foot-6 Fundora on 11 days’ notice. Now, rather than take on a softer opponent in a comeback fight, Tszyu will return stateside for a clash against Ortiz, who owns a 100% KO ratio.
Ortiz (20-0, 20 KOs) made his 154-pound debut in January with a first-round TKO victory vs. the overmatched Fredrick Lawson. That was Ortiz’s first bout in 17 months.
Since March 2022, Ortiz has withdrawn from three fights due to health issues related to rhabdomyolysis, a condition that occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood.