Vergil Ortiz just put the welterweight division on notice.
Saturday night’s fight against Maurice Hooker was billed as the toughest test of his young career. An onslaught fueled by strong body shots helped Ortiz pick up a seventh-round TKO victory over Hooker at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
The fight was stopped when Hooker suffered a right hand injury, but before that Ortiz showed why he will be a force in the division. Ortiz knocked Hooker down in the sixth round and was on the verge of pushing toward a stoppage victory before Hooker was hurt.
Ortiz and Hooker were both looking to establish themselves as welterweight contenders after fighting previously at 140 pounds, where Hooker was previously a champion.
Ortiz (17-0, 17 KOs) has scored all of his wins by knockout.
Hooker (27-2-3, 18 KOs) was handed his second pro loss and first as a welterweight.