Grand Prairie boxer gives Fort Worth fans a show — with bigger things to come
Big-time boxing came to Fort Worth on Saturday — for about 4 1/2 minutes.
That’s all the time it took for Grand Prairie’s Vergil Ortiz Jr., the No. 1-ranked 154-pound fighter in the world, to destroy Erickson Lubin in Ortiz’s Metroplex homecoming Saturday at Dickies Arena.
The 27-year-old Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs) defended his WBC interim super welterweight title with a second-round knockout of the 30-year-old Lubin (27-3, 19 KOs), from Florida.
After Ortiz started pressuring Lubin late in the first round, he opened up the attack even more in the second, pinning Lubin against the ropes and unleashing a flurry of right hands. Lubin slumped into the ropes, and the referee leaped in to stop the fight with 1:32 remaining in the round after a final left from Ortiz.
This all happened a few minutes after Lubin walked to the ring to MC Hammer’s song “U Can’t Touch This.”
Yes, Ortiz could. He was a prohibitive -1000 favorite at DraftKings, meaning a bettor would have had to bet $1,000 to profit $100 on Ortiz, but that turned out to be the kind of reliable 10% return Warren Buffett could get behind.
The crowd didn’t seem to mind the short show, chanting “Ortiz! Ortiz! Ortiz!” during the first round, then cheering wildly at the finish.
Vergil Ortiz to fight at AT&T Stadium?
Saturday marked Ortiz’s third fight at Dickies Arena, and he has also headlined cards in Frisco and Grand Prairie.
“Fighting in DFW is always an honor for me,” Ortiz said. “... I’m very grateful for you guys, and I’m always happy to put on a show for you guys.”
Ortiz’s promoter, Hall of Fame fighter Oscar De La Hoya, said he wants to see Ortiz headline a show at DFW’s biggest venue, AT&T Stadium.
“I can’t wait to call my friend [Dallas Cowboys owner] Jerry Jones and talk about bringing Vergil to the Dallas Cowboys’ stadium,” De La Hoya said. “Just like Vergil promised when he was a kid. He told Jerry Jones, ‘I’m going to be your next star that fills up the stadium.’ So I can’t wait to give him a call, and we’ll do some big things with Jerry Jones.”
Vergil Ortiz vs. Jaron “Boots” Ennis next?
That won’t happen in Ortiz’s next bout, which seems all but certain to be a showdown with undefeated former welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs), who climbed into the ring and exchanged words with Ortiz after his win Saturday.
“I think this is the fight that has to happen, man,” Ortiz said. “I think this is it.”
Ennis, from Philadelphia, said he looked forward to beating Ortiz for trash talk directed at him from Ortiz’s camp, which Ortiz said was only in retaliation for statements made by Ennis’ father.
“Your manager’s talking all crazy, Oscar’s talking crazy, and it’s the time, and I’m going to make you pay for everything they said,” Ennis said.
“Ain’t nobody going to pay over here,” Ortiz said.
This is how boxing does business. Use tonight’s fight to sell the next one. The show goes on.
Ortiz — announced as “the fighting pride of Grand Prairie, Texas” — is one of the stars of the show now. We’ll see how high he can climb.
Vergil Ortiz Jr.-Erickson Lubin undercard results
Darius Fulghum, David Stevens majority draw
Darius “DFG” Fulghum (14-1-1, 12 KOs) and David “Dynamite” Stevens (15-2-1, 10 KOs) fought to a majority draw in a 10-round super middeweight (168-pound) fight. Two judges scored the fight 95-95, and one scored it 96-94 for Fulghum.
The fight featured a lot of clinching, grappling, pushing and infighting and drew scattered boos throughout.
Amari Jones TKO3 Shady Gamhour
Amari Jones (15-0, 13 KOs) knocked down Shady Gamhour (14-3, nine KOs) twice at the end of the third round, and the referee waved off the middleweight (160-pound) fight.
Joshua Edwards TKO3 Zeno Vooris
Joshua “The Rocket” Edwards (5-0, five KOs) earned a technical knockout of Zeno “The Hammer” Vooris (5-2, five KOs) in a heavyweight fight when Vooris’ corner stopped the fight at 2:34 of the third round.
Edwards weighed 231.4 pounds, Vooris 239.6.
Robin Safar UD Derick Miller Jr.
Robin “Robz” Safar (19-0, 13 KOs) cruised to a unanimous decision over Derick Miller Jr. (18-1, 10 KOs) in a 10-round cruiserweight (200-pound) fight. Safar won by wide scores of 98-91 and 99-90 twice.
Eric Priest, Esneiker Correa draw
Eric Priest (16-0-1, eight KOs) fought to a split draw with Esneiker “The Wonder” Correa (16-6-3, 14 KOs) in an eight-round middleweight (160-pound) fight. The scores were 79-73 for Priest, 77-75 for Correa and 76-76.
This story was originally published November 8, 2025 at 8:39 PM.
