By: Sean Crose
“FYI I don’t wait on no one,” Tim Tszyu tweeted this week. “I create my own destiny. Get the job done this weekend @VergilOrtiz and we make a fight for the ages.” Get the job done indeed. Should Vergil Ortiz succeed in defeating Thomas Dulorme this Saturday night when they meet at Fresno’s Save Mart Arena, he will find himself in line to face the popular and notable Tszyu. What’s more, should Ortiz emerge victorious on Saturday, he and Tszyu will fight on the absolutely loaded undercard for the Terence Crawford – Israil Madrimov bout in August. Again, the 20-0 Ortiz, who has never met an opponent he hasn’t knocked out, has a lot riding on this weekend’s fight with Dulorme.
Suffice to say, Ortiz-Tszyu is a fight worth salivating over. These are two tough, skilled, and exciting fighters who leave it all out in the ring. Tszyu recently lost his junior middleweight title to Sebastian Fundora in a bout Tszyu seemed to be in change of before suffering a horrible cut near his eye. As for Ortiz, the man, simply put, is dangerous. A composed hunter, he’s known to move forward deliberately while maintaining strong footwork and pressuring opponents. Lastly, the Texan knows how to close the show in grand fashion.
Then again, Ortiz has never faced anyone like Tszyu before. Like Ortiz, Tszyu loves to apply pressure. He’s also fast and is one of the best in the business at putting his punches together effectively. Furthermore, Tszyu – as was evidenced in the Fundora fight – is pure heart. Knowing how bad his bloody situation was against Fundora, the popular Australian kept fighting to win in spite of the odds. Lastly, Tszyu is looking to get back on track after suffering his only loss just about a month ago. He’s a fighter eager to get back in the win column.
Of course, exciting as talk of a Ortiz-Tszyu fight might be, Ortiz still has to get past Dulorme this weekend. And if Ryan Garcia’s stunning victory over Devin Haney last Saturday told fans anything, it’s that anything seems to be possible in boxing. Dulorme may have lost to the likes of Crawford and Yordenis Ugas, but defeats to big names can be seen as learning experiences. He’s dropped three of his last four fights, true, but Dulorme clearly knows this is as much a time as any to rise to the occasion.
The Ortiz-Dulorme fight will air Saturday night at DAZN. The televised main card starts at 8:00 PM Eastern time.