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Hot welterweight contender Vergil Ortiz is open to the scenario of facing Olympian Josh Kelly in the future - if the British defeats EBU welterweight champion David Avanesyan on Saturday night at the SSE Arena in Wembley.
“That would definitely be a good fight. I’ve seen people mentioning a fight between me and him before. I don’t see why not,” Ortiz told Sky Sports.
Ortiz is currently training for a scheduled showdown with former world champion Maurice Hooker, which is taking place on March 20th.
While some boxers believe Avanesyan is going to come away with a win, Ortiz expects Kelly to stay smart and box his way to a victory.
“He’s definitely a good fighter. He just has to do what he does best. He’s a smart fighter, he’s slick,” Ortiz told Sky Sports.
“Typically when you fight a Russian, you just got to be on your toes the whole time because they’re pretty tough. They keep coming forward, they’ll eat a shot to give a shot, so he just has to do what he does best and be smart.”
For his part, Ortiz is having trouble securing bigger names at 147-pounds, and hopes a win over Hooker will get him more lucrative opportunities in the future.
“A win over Maurice Hooker would definitely open a lot of doors to get that world title shot and I’m looking forward to it,” said Ortiz.
“We’re going to want to prove that we’re ready for a world title shot at 147. He’s going to want to prove that he’s still one of the best in the boxing game. It’s going to be a really good fight, it’s going to be very exciting.
“I don’t think [a lot of the top names] would want to face me because I’m 22-years-old. They’re going to say he’s too young. I feel like I’m a high risk, low reward fighter.”