Vergil Ortiz Jr. has been on a steady rise in the sport over the past few years. Ever since his debut, the young gun has made significant statements and has completely staggered the welterweight roster. But he isn’t quite satisfied with his stint as yet, because his ultimate aim is to fight for the world title against Terence Crawford.

Ortiz Jr. has expressed his interest in fighting ‘Bud’ several times. But over the past few days, it was rumored that he denied a fight against Crawford.

In an exclusive interview with Steve Kim, the 23-year-old denied turning down a fight against Terence Crawford. He also opened up on his upcoming fight with Egidijus Kavaliauskas.

“I mean, I definitely think that, if I come out victorious, a lot of doors are gonna open. I feel like after this fight, immediately be ready for a world title shot, no matter who it is,” he said.

Speaking on the Terence Crawford fight matter, he added, “I mean, I wanna say I was surprised. I was like, come on bro like, now they’re just making up stuff, they’re looking for stuff. I don’t know if they’re trying to start something or tryna make people look good or what but, it was always false.”

Read More – Jake Paul vs. Tyron Woodley PPV: Price, How to Buy, Time, and Full Card

Despite all the rumors spread in his name, Ortiz Jr., in his above statements, seemed ecstatic about his upcoming fight this weekend. In this bout, the Texas native will defend his WBO international welterweight title and will look to claim a thunderous win to advance closer to a Terence Crawford fight.

Will the fans get to see Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs Terence Crawford this year?

For now, Ortiz Jr. has a fight officially set for this weekend. However, there’s no official news on Terence Crawford’s next fight, despite him having been ordered to defend against Shawn Porter.

But he’s expected to make his return to the game in October 2021, mostly against Porter. Post that, if he wins, he’ll be free to fight anyone in the division. But given the timelines, it doesn’t look likely that Crawford will fight twice in 2021.

That said, if Ortiz Jr. gets past his opponent this weekend, then millions of fans would be hoping to see him against ‘Bud’ in his next fight, whenever it may be.

Watch this story – Tyron Woodley’s Rap: Best to Worst