Virgil Ortiz Jr. says he expects his fight against Israel Madrimov to be “chess match” next month when they square off in a Round of 12 match on February 22 in Riyadh.

Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) will defend his WBC interim junior middleweight title that he was fortunate to have in his last fight against former WBA 154-lb champion Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs) against Serhii Bohachuk.

Madrimov's power vs. Ortiz Jr.'s speed

Former amateur star Madrimov has the skill and power advantage over Ortiz Jr., but he doesn't possess the same punch output or stamina. If Israel is unable to make more throws and fight harder in the next round, Virgil Jr. will cruise to a win in this matchup.

As we saw in Madrimov's recent loss to Terence Crawford, he uses too many feints, and waits too long to land his shots. When Madrimov throws, it's always just a punch. He is not a combination puncher. He feints for 30 seconds, then fires a single shot and then starts. That's why he lost to Crawford and why he might lose to Virgil.

“I can't tell you how it's going. I think it's going to be a chess match, but it's going to be fun. It's just going to be fun,” said Virgil Ortiz Jr. at Queensberry Promotions YouTube Channel about his title defense against Israel Madrimov on February 22nd in Riyadh.

“I think there's a lot of bulls*** with people saying, 'Oh, I see fear,'” Virgil Jr. said when asked what he saw when facing Israel Madrimov. “I'm just there looking at you because I have to. Do you know what I mean? I can't see anything. I'm just like, 'It's part of the job or whatever,' not wanting to laugh. What I'm thinking. Trying not to smile or anything. It's just being honest,” Ortiz Jr. said.

Recent Controversies

Both fighters have been in recent matches that could have easily turned the tables and gone the other way. Madrimov punched Terence Crawford, but was awarded a questionable 12-round unanimous decision on August 3 last year. Virgil Jr. was very fortunate to win a 12-round majority decision over WBC interim 154-lb champion Bohachuk on August 10th.

Ortiz Jr. was knocked out twice, and lost six of twelve rounds. Normally, this would mean a loss, but the judges gave it to A-side fighter Virgil and now he is the new WBC interim champion.

Obviously, Virgil would have been better off clearing up the controversy, but he chose not to. This doesn't help his career as fans now see him as a tarnished partial champion. Turki Al-Sheikh should have given Virgil Jr. Bohachuk a rematch before he appears on any more shows.