Virgil Ortiz Jr. beats Lawson, asks Tszyu

With Lawson against the ropes, Ortiz Jr. delivered a flurry of left hooks to the body and right hands until referee Weeks stopped the action at 2 minutes, 33 seconds of the first round.

Virgil Ortiz Jr. scored a first-round technical knockout victory Saturday in Las Vegas, in a fight stopped by referee Tony Weeks and strongly protested by his opponent, Frederick Lawson.

Ortiz Jr. knocked out Lawson with a back-up jab in their first fight in 17 months. With Lawson against the ropes, Ortiz Jr. (20-0, 20 KOs) delivered a flurry of left hooks to the body and rights until referee Weeks stopped the action at 2 minutes, 33 seconds of the first round.

Weeks told DAZN’s Beto Duran that he stopped the fight because he noticed Lawson’s eyes were rolling back in his head. Lawson, a 34-year-old Ghanaian who entered the fight as a big underdog, protested passionately.

“I think he survived,” said Ortiz Jr., who was making his junior middleweight debut. “I was hurting him with all the punches. I wasn’t really putting anything behind it… I love fighting. I wish I could keep going. I need the round.”

Since March 2022, Ortiz has pulled out of three fights due to health issues related to rhabdomyolysis, a condition that occurs when damaged muscle tissue releases its proteins and electrolytes into the blood.

Ortiz Jr. was ranked No. 3 by ESPN at 147 pounds when he faced Aimantas Stanionis last year. That fight was postponed three times; First after Stanionis’ emergency appendectomy and then twice due to a recurrence of Ortiz Jr.’s rhabdomyolysis.

With his health improving, Ortiz Jr. returned to shake off the rust in a 156-pound bout on Saturday. And he did so by teaming up with renowned trainer Robert Garcia after the split in 2021.

Dallas area native Ortiz Jr. maintained his perfect knockout record with a win over Lawson (30-4, 22 KOs). Now he wants his first shot at a world title.

“I’m ready for anyone,” said Ortiz Jr., whose breakout 2021 campaign included distance wins over Maurice Hooker and Egidijus Kavaliauskas. “I feel like I’m getting back to what I used to do. This is my calling; this is what I live for.”

Ortiz Jr. challenged WBO junior middleweight champion Tim Tszyu.

“With all due respect, I would love to fight you,” Ortiz Jr. said in his notice. “I think you’re a great fighter and let’s make this possible… I want to fight the best.”

Ortiz Jr.’s promoter, Hall of Fame fighter Oscar De La Hoya, said Ortiz “will also go to Australia to fight Tim Tszyu.”

Tszyu, the son of Hall of Famer Kostya Tszyu, responded to Ortiz Jr. in a post on X, welcoming him to the 154-pound division and saying, “I’m always interested in a modern classic.”