By: Sean Crose
Numerous outlets are reporting that rising welterweight Vergil Ortiz fainted and was hospitalized on the eve of his highly anticipated Saturday battle against fellow undefeated contender Eimantas Stanionis. Suffice to say, the fight, which was to be broadcast live on DAZN and was to be for a minor title belt, has been postponed. “Nothing is more important than the safety of our fighters,” Golden Boy Promotions, the fight’s promoter, claimed in a statement, “and we of course support Vergil’s decision (to postpone the fight) 100 percent.” With that being said, this is the third time a fight between the two welterweights has been postponed.
With that in mind, the rest of Saturday’s card, which is scheduled to go down in San Antonio, will proceed without cancellation. “This unfortunate event,” Golden Boy claimed, “does however open the door for one of Golden Boy’s top prospects, Floyd Schofield, to accelerate his profile by headlining in his home state of Texas.” The 20 year old Austin native Schofield, is a 14-0 lightweight. His opponent on Saturday will be 28-4-1 Haskell Rhodes. Ready or not, Schofield now finds himself the main event of a broadcast card.
Boxing Insider wishes Vergil Ortiz a quick and thorough recovery.
