Vergil Ortiz Jr has shared his thoughts on the upcoming ‘super-fight’ between Canelo Alvarez and Terence Crawford after sharing rounds with the Mexican champion.
The two pound-for-pound stars are set to do battle for the undisputed super-middleweight title on Saturday September 13 at the Allegiant Stadium in Las Vegas, Nevada.
One fighter that has seen Canelo up close is super-welterweight contender Ortiz, who has spent some time sparring the Mexican great in the past during a switch to Eddy Reynoso’s gym.
Speaking on Ring Champs with Ak & Barak, Ortiz shared details of his sparring experience with Canelo, where gives plaudits to the Mexican’s punching power and chin.
“That dude’s good, he’s good … He hits hard but he held back, he held back for sure. But the one thing I remember was I set him up for a shot and it worked, I don’t wanna say which one because I don’t want to give away my secrets, but I hit him with like a hard hook.
“I’m talking about like I made him drop his hand thinking I was gonna do something else and I hit him as hard as I could and his head [barely moved].”
Ortiz also made his prediction for the fight, saying that he doesn’t believe Crawford will be victorious.
“I don’t think so [Crawford beats Canelo] and look, hear me out, I respect Crawford and everything that he’s doing but he just moved up from 147 so I’m just gonna treat him as a 147 pounder, he’s jumping up three weight classes to fight someone who was like the number one fighter in all of boxing.”
Whilst ‘Bud’ is faced with the toughest test of his career when he faces Canelo next month, the 37-year-old is on the verge of becoming a three-time undisputed champion.