In what has been some surprising news on a Monday evening, now junior middleweight Vergil Ortiz Jr. (19-0, 19 KOs) has gone back to his former trainer Robert Garcia in preparation for his January 6 fight against Fredrick Lawson (30-3, 22 KOs). This news comes after an X post by both Ortiz Jr. and Garcia’s X accounts saying, “Let’s go” and “Ready to take over 154 lbs!” The news was also confirmed by Golden Boy Promotions PR, who said, “Yes, confirmed that he is with RG!”.
January 6th in Las Vegas! Vergil will be back and better than ever. Ready to take over 154 lbs! #RGBA #HouseOfChampions @VergilOrtiz @GoldenBoyBoxing pic.twitter.com/ktBYz9Pmx3
— Robert Garcia Boxing (@GarciaBoxing) November 13, 2023
The news comes as a surprise, and it was just last March when Ortiz Jr. had an “amicable” split from Garcia’s camp after being together for over three years. Ortiz Jr. would later try and see if things would work out with Eddy Reynoso, but the timing didn’t work out, and he decided to stay with his father as the head trainer. Ortiz Jr. would later hire Manny Robles, but that ended up not working out, so he went with just having his father in his corner.
Team Ortiz x RGBA 🥊💯 Jan 6th let’s go pic.twitter.com/BXImxGVMOo
— Vergil Ortiz Jr. (@VergilOrtiz) November 13, 2023
After being ill for two straight fights and having to pull out, this January fight against Lawson is arguably the most important one of his career. He has to regain confidence in himself and the fans who have supported him throughout the years, including his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya. Ortiz Jr. making to fight night and looking like his old self is what he needs, and to do that, it seems as though he felt that he needed to get back to the training team that brought him to that position in the first place which was The Robert Garcia Boxing Academy.
It'll be interesting to see if this Ortiz Jr. and Garcia team can find that magic once again to become a big name within the division.
