Published
4 years agoon
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Michael Woods11-0 hitter Vergil Ortiz Jr from Texas was looking forward to leaving his mark on the East Coast, with a slot on the Saturday undercard of the event topped by Canelo Alvarez v Rocky Fielding at MSG.
Ortiz in the late morning found out his fight was scrapped. This after we learned David Lemieux was dehydrated and his fight with Tureano Johnson was cancelled….
Ortiz Jr explained on Twitter:
I messaged the commission, seeking clarity. Spokesman Lee Park responded:
“We cannot discuss particulars of any fighter’s medical status. However, Mr. Ortiz’ opponent (Omar Tienda) submitted an approved ophthalmologic exam as per NYS rules prior to the fight. He also underwent a full and complete physical today and was authorized to box tomorrow. Mr. Ortiz is medically disqualified as he failed to meet the NYS minimum requirements for licensure.”
Editor/publisher Michael Woods got addicted to boxing in 1990, when Buster Douglas shocked the world with his demolition of the thought to be impregnable Mike Tyson. The Brooklyn-based journalist Woods has covered the sport since then, for ESPN The Magazine, ESPN.com, ESPN New York, RING, and he was editor of TheSweetScience.com from 2007-2015. Woods is also an accomplished blow by blow and color man, having done work for Top Rank, DiBella Entertainment, EPIX, and for Facebook Fightnight Live since 2017. He now does work for PROBOX TV, the first truly global boxing network.