Vergil Ortiz Jr. Finishes Maurice Hooker in 7

(Photos - Sye Williams/Golden Boy)

Undefeated welterweight Vergil Ortiz Jr (17-0, 17 KOs) of Grand Prairie, Texas continued his knockout streak and kept his perfect record as he stopped and former world champ Maurice “Mighty Mo” Hooker (27-2-3, 19 KOs) of Dallas, Texas Saturday night at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

From the start Ortiz applied the pressure getting Hooker out of his comfort zone. Ortiz dropped Hooker in the sixth round but was up and survived the round. In the seventh however Hooker continued to exchange with Ortiz as a right to the body sent Hooker down a second time as he was done at 56 seconds of the seventh.

Ortiz Jr. is now the new WBO International welterweight champ as there are some intriguing matchups down the road.

“I felt like I did pretty good,” said Vergil Ortiz Jr. “There’s always room for improvement. I could have done a lot of things better. Hooker showed me that he is durable. He can definitely take a punch. He was smart. He was trying to throw around my guard. But I just knew what to do.”

“The game plan was to slow him down,” Ortiz Jr. continued. “I knew he was going to want to box. I knew he wouldn’t want to stay inside. I neutralized his plans. I did think I would go the distance at some point in the fight. But to be honest the head shots weren’t hurting him. He can take a punch. That’s when I started investing into the body. This win gives me more confidence. I believe in myself even more now than ever that I am ready for a world title. I don’t care if I’m ready or not for Terence Crawford; I want that fight.”

“It was a good fight,” said Maurice Hooker. “Vergil is a great fighter. I take my hat off to him. Everyone in Dallas won. I had been out of the ring for a year and a half. I had to weather the storm of the first few rounds and get my rhythm. Vergil is young and up-and-coming. But there are levels to this. He’s good, but he’s not ready for Terence Crawford.”

Seniesa “Superbad” Estrada (19-0, 8 KOs) of East Los Angeles, California dominated her way to a decision win over two-division champion Anabel “Avispa” Ortiz (31-3, 4 KOs) of Mexico City, Mexico. Estrada came out aggressive and also showed her flash in the opening round as Ortiz off to a slow start, countered. A straight right in the second by Estrada sat Ortiz down as she got up and continued to fight. It was all Senisia throughout the fight as she mixed it switching her stance. Ortiz's eye's were swollen as Estrada put in the work dominating her way to a unanimous decision.

“This is a dream come true,” said Seniesa Estrada. “This is exactly how I pictured it winning a world title when I was 7 years old. I was on a global platform on DAZN and a fought a very good champion. I did it with Golden Boy. That’s exactly how I pictured it as a little girl.”

Argentinian welterweight Marcelino Lopez (37-2-1, 27 KO's) and Jairo Lopez (27-12, 18 K0s) of Mexico slugged it out for five rounds as the Argentinian Marcelino Lopez came out with the exciting victory. Lopez attacked from the opening bell. An overhand right by Marcelino Lopez in the third sat Jairo Lopez as he got up and exchanged to the end of the round. It was a slugfest as Marcelino and Jairo continued to trade. The Mexican appeared to be pushed as the referee ruled it a knockdown, Jairo and Marcelino continued to trade in the fifth but a powerful combination by the Argentinian sent Lopez to the canvas a third time as the referee reached a ten count at :124.

Opening up the DAZN telecast, cruiserweight Tristan Kalkreuth (8-0, 7 KOs) of Duncanville, Texas made quick work in chopping down Dustin Long stopping him in the first round. Kalkreuth attacked Long with a series of punches knocking him down and out.

Super lightweight Alex Martin (15-3, 6 KOs) of Chicago, Illinois handed Luis “Matador” Hernandez (21-0, 19 KOs) of Chihuahua, Mexico his first defeat in winning a unanimous decision going the distance eight rounds. Martin was very slick as from the southpaw stance as Hernandez stalked and worked his way in. In the end the judges scored the bout

Super lightweight George Rincon (10-0, 7 KOs) of Dallas, Texas dominated his way to a unanimous decision over Luis Solis (25-12-4, KO'S). Rincon had to put the work in against the seasoned Solis scoring a knockdown in the sixth and boxing well throughout the fight in route to the decision win. Scores were 80-71, 80-71, and 79-72.

In the opening bout super bantamweight Hector Valdez (13-0, 8 KOs) of Dallas, Texas won a unanimous decision over a tough Alberto Torres (11-3-3, 4 KOs) of Sacramento, California. Scores were 79-73, 78-74, and 78-74.

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