There was a time about a year ago that Vergil Ortiz had difficulty getting out of bed or climbing into a tub.
The 25-year-old welterweight contender’s problems were symptoms of the blood disorder rhabdomyolysis and a bout with long COVID that left his muscles weakened and interrupted his career, although he recuperated enough to stop Michael McKinson in August.
“Imagine me having trouble doing everyday stuff,” Ortiz told Boxing Junkie.
Well, Ortiz (19-0, 19 KOs) is finally 100% healthy – for the first time in around three years, he said – and ready to resume his pursuit of the top 147-pounders and a place among the best fighters pound-for-pound.
That starts with arguably the biggest fight of his career, a meeting with unbeaten secondary titleholder Eimantas Stanionis of Lithuania on Saturday night at AT&T Center in San Antonio (DAZN).
“I haven’t felt this good in a very long time. Hopefully this is the start of a new era of feeling good,” Ortiz said.
Ortiz pointed out that all fighters deal with aches and pains in their training camps. That’s an inevitable challenge in the roughest of sports, one that they must push through if they hope to succeed.
However, when you’re dealing with something like rhabdomyolysis, which causes unusual muscle soreness and fatigue, and long COVID, which attacks the respiratory system, it can be devastating for a boxer.
He now appreciates how good health makes training easier.
“You know what? It does feel that way,” he said. “I can breathe better, I can just get through it easier. It feels good doing it. … I have a different perspective now. It’s like when you go to a different country and you realize how good you have it when you go home.
“I’m not a different fighter, I’m the same guy. I just see a big difference [being healthy].”
Ortiz had better be at his best against Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs).
The 28-year-old former Olympic doesn’t have the firepower of a knockout artist like Ortiz but he’s a well-schooled boxer and seems to be unusually strong and durable. He’s perceived as a handful for any opponent.
And Ortiz said he’d have it no other way. He wants to face a genuine challenge, not a pushover, for the WBA’s secondary “world” title, which Boxing Junkie doesn’t recognize.
“It’s definitely a huge fight,” he said. “My first world title fight. And I have a strong, tough opponent. That’s how I want it to be if I win the title. I don’t want to put anyone down but if it was someone not exactly up there, I wouldn’t feel I’ve earned it.”
If things go well, the next step would be a shot at a major title.
Of course, he’s paying close attention to the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. superfight for the undisputed 147-pound championship on July 29. Ortiz would be a prime candidate to face whomever has his hand raised.
And if that’s not in the cards immediately, he’d have other good options. The division is deep.
Ortiz doesn’t want to get ahead of himself, though. As he put it: “I gotta get past this guy first.”
