Grand Prairie slugger defends title with crushing early knockout

Big-time boxing came to Fort Worth on Saturday, as Grand Prairie’s Vergil Ortiz Jr., the No. 1-ranked 154-pound fighter in the world, held a Metroplex homecoming at Dickies Arena.

Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs) defended his WBC interim super welterweight title with a second-round knockout of Erickson Lubin (27-3, 19 KOs) from Florida.

Ortiz, who fights for Hall of Famer Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, was a prohibitive -1000 favorite at DraftKings, meaning a bettor would have to bet $1,000 to profit $100 on Ortiz. Lubin was +600, meaning a $100 bet would have profited $600 if Lubin had won.

The fights was broadcast on DAZN pay-per-view.

Here’s how it unfolded:

Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Erickson Lubin round-by-round updates

Round 2: It’s over! Ortiz traps Lubin on the ropes, hurting him with a series of rights. The last clearly stuns Lubin, and Ortiz finishes him with a left. The referee steps in with Lubin slumped on the ropes at 1:32 of the secound round.

Round 1: Not much action early, but Ortiz opens up in the last minute. Crowd already chanting his name.

Ringwalks: Lubin walks out to MC Hammer’s “U Can’t Touch This,” then Ortiz comes out with a heavy metal riff followed by Tejano music. Announced as the “fighting pride of Grand Prairie, Texas.”

Vergil Ortiz Jr.-Erickson Lubin undercard results

Darius Fulghum, David Stevens majority draw

Darius “DFG” Fulghum (14-1-1, 12 KOs) and David “Dynamite” Stevens (15-2-1, 10 KOs) fought to a majority draw in a 10-round super middeweight (168-pound) fight. Two judges scored the fight 95-95, and one scored it 96-94 for Fulghum.

The fight featured a lot of clinching, grappling, pushing and infighting and drew scattered boos throughout the duration.

Amari Jones TKO3 Shady Gamhour

Amari Jones (15-0, 13 KOs) knocked down Shady Gamhour (14-3, nine KOs) twice at the end of the third round, and the referee waved off the middleweight (160-pound) fight.

Joshua Edwards TKO3 Zeno Vooris

Joshua “The Rocket” Edwards (5-0, five KOs) earned a technical knockout of Zeno “The Hammer” Vooris (5-2, five KOs) in a heavyweight fight when Vooris’ corner stopped the fight at 2:34 of the third round.

Edwards weighed 231.4 pounds, Vooris 239.6.

Robin Safar UD Derick Miller Jr.

Robin “Robz” Safar (19-0, 13 KOs) cruised to a unanimous decision over Derick Miller Jr. (18-1, 10 KOs) in a 10-round cruiserweight (200-pound) fight. Safar won by wide scores of 98-91 and 99-90 twice.

Eric Priest, Esneiker Correa draw

Eric Priest (16-0-1, eight KOs) fought to a split draw with Esneiker “The Wonder” Correa (16-6-3, 14 KOs) in an eight-round middleweight (160-pound) fight. The scores were 79-73 for Priest, 77-75 for Correa and 76-76.

This story was originally published November 8, 2025 at 8:39 PM.