Vergil Ortiz Jr is back for his second fight of the year, live on DAZN on Saturday, April 27th. He will be up against Thomas Dulorme, who has been out of the ring since the summer of 2022. Ortiz’s last fight was in January, when he beat Fredrick Lawson with a first-round knockout. Ortiz is 20-0 and hopefully has put aside the heatlh problems that lept him out of action in 2023. Dulorme is 26-6-1, a record which includes losses to current champions Terence Crawford and Jarron Ennis and former champion Yordenis Ugas. The pair are fighting on the undercard in support of the headline event of Jose Ramirez vs. Rances Barthelemy, two former champions. 

 

Ortiz was inactive due to rhabdomyolysis. According to the Center for Disease Control, rhabdomyolysis occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood. These substances can damage the heart and kidneys and cause permanent disability or even death.

 

In January, referee Tony Weeks ruined Ortiz's comeback fight with a quick stoppage. Ortiz was dominating Lawson, but not all of his punches were landing cleanly and Lawson barely wobbled when Weeks jumped in. The fans booed lustily, and even Ortiz was upset. Ortiz has been off for nearly a year and a half due to illness. The Final Punchstats after about two and a half minutes of action showed Ortiz outlanding Lawson 24 punches to 4. In Weeks' defense, there were some pre-fight health concerns surrounding Lawson.