(Original image: Golden Boy Promotions)
Saturday, March 20th. at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, Golden Boy Promotions hosted the Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs Maurice Hooker card
Hooker vs Ortiz Jr.
In the main event that featured two DFW natives, Vergil Ortiz Jr. defeated Maurice Hooker for the WBO International Welterweight Championship. Early in the fight, Ortiz made it clear that he wanted to keep the fight on the inside. Hooker, using his footwork and range, threw jabs to disrupt Ortiz’s pressure but most of them met the tight defensive shell of Ortiz.
After taking a couple of thudding blows from Ortiz, Oak Cliff Texas’ Maurice Hooker seemed to wake up in the third round and began landing some sharp jabs of his own. Hooker also landed a significant uppercut in the 4th round that seemed to get Ortiz’s attention
Starting with round five, however, Ortiz began taking over the fight. Hooker still had his moments, scoring with some counter shots, but Ortiz began investing in body shots and using that investment to go back upstairs. Hooker seemed to grimace in reaction to some of Ortiz’s body work in the 4th and 5th round, then was hit with a powerful combination of body work and head shots in the 6th round that sent him to the canvas.
Hooker returned to his feet and the two warriors threw hooks with reckless abandon to end the 6th round; but early in the 7th round, Hooker ate a body shot and landed a punch to the forehead of Ortiz that seemed to seriously injure his right hand. Hooker was unable to continue and Vergil Ortiz Jr. was awarded the TKO victory,
After the bout, Ortiz Jr., once again, expressed interest in fighting WBO Welterweight Champion Terence Crawford (37-0 28 KO).
“I would love the opportunity to fight Terence Crawford,” he said. “If I get any opportunity, I would take it. I don’t care if I’m ready or not; I want that fight.”
Ortiz vs Estrada
In the co-main event, Seniesa Estrada defeated Anabel Ortiz for the WBA Minimumweight Championship
Early in the bout, Estrada bounced around Ortiz with her hands down landing whatever flashy shots she could think of and switching stances often. She adopted somewhat of a Roy Jones Jr. style – jumping in and out and throwing unorthodox overhands while Ortiz relied on her Jab.
In the second round, Estrada lunged in with a hard right hand that sent Ortiz to the canvas. Ortiz, as tough as they come, returned to her feet and attempted to put pressure on Estrada
For the middle rounds, Estrada landed what she wanted without taking many shots herself. Ortiz was outclassed but hung in there trying to land shots of her own. As she stood up from the stool in the 5th round, she was suffering from swelling in both of her eyes, but it wasn’t bad enough to affect her vision
Estrada continued through the later rounds to finish off a wonderful performance, switching stances, using angles, and flexing her head movement to prove that she was the better fighter. It was obvious, when the final bell rang, that she had done enough to capture the title
“This is a dream come true,” She said. “This is exactly how I pictured it winning a world title when I was 7 years old. I was on a global platform on DAZN and I fought a very good champion. I did it with Golden Boy. That’s exactly how I pictured it as a little girl.”
Full Card results:
Vergil Ortiz Jr. def. Maurice Hooker – TKO Round 7 (WBO International Welterweight Championship)
Seniesa Estrada def. Anabel Ortiz – Unanimous decision (WBA Minimumweight Championship)
Marcelino Lopez def. Jario Lopez – KO Round 5
,Tristian Kalkreuth def. Dustin Long – KO Round 1
Alex Martin def. Luis Hernandez – Unanimous decision (WBC Continental America Super Lightweight Championship)