Fight fans will have to wait a while longer for the much-anticipated contest between WBA ‘Regular’ Welterweight champion, Eimantas Stanionis, and his mandated opponent Vergil Ortiz Jr. The two young fighters were set to battle it out on April 29th at the College Park Center in Texas, but the match has now been indefinitely postponed according to Ortiz’ promoter, Golden Boy.
Eimantas Stanionis (14-0, 9 KO’s) and Vergil Ortiz Jr. (19-0, 19 KO’s) had previously been set to face each other on March 18th before Stanionis forcibly had to pull out due to the Lithuanian fighter suddenly suffering an appendectomy. Their match was later rescheduled for April 29th, but it will have to be moved again as now Vergil Ortiz Jr. is the one who contracts a rare ailment which has been confirmed to be rhabdomyolysis, a condition that breaks the muscles down and is something that Ortiz has experienced before in the past.
“Vergil Ortiz Jr. suffers (from a) rhabdomyolysis flare-up and has to pull out of (his) April 29th fight against Eimantas Stanionis.” Golden Boy stated on their Twitter page. “Ortiz Jr. is expected to make a full recovery later and return to the ring later this year.
“More information on the April 29th fight will be announced shortly.“
Golden Boy’s message suggests that the April 29th boxing event is set to be cancelled entirely, or will continue with another fight headlining the show. For now, the fight between both contenders will be moved up to a date that has yet to be determined.
Though the set of circumstances that led to both Eimantas Stanionis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. suffering two separate and unique ailments in the span of three months are extremely rare, there is still hope that the two will face each other this year in a clash between two youthful fighters who are ready to take to risk it all against each other. The winner of their clash will be able to enjoy the status of ‘Regular’ world champion, and face the division’s WBA ‘Super’ champion, Errol Spence Jr. (28-0, 22 KO’s), at some point in the near future.
