WBC orders Ortiz-Avanesyan final eliminator

Ortiz is ranked 1st by the sanctioning body, Avanesyan 3rd

Just one man stands between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and his first world title shot, but he’ll have to earn it. Neil Marsh, who manages reigning European welterweight champion David Avanesyan, claims that the WBC have ordered Ortiz to face his charge in a final eliminator.

The two sit at #1 and #3, respectively, in the rankings. Mikey Garcia’s technically in second but they seem to have skipped him for obvious reasons.

The order is one of many that have emerged from the sanctioning body’s ongoing convention, including Jaime Munguia vs. Sergiy Derevyanchenko and Canelo Alvarez vs. Ilunga Makabu.

Avanesyan (28-3-1, 16 KO) has been on an absolute rampage since his 2018 stoppage loss to Egidijus Kavaliauskas, racking up five consecutive knockouts. Twin beatdowns of Kerman Lejarraga reignited his career and earned him the Euro title, which he’s defended thrice. The biggest win of the lot came against Josh Kelly, whom he stopped in six this past February.

Him against Ortiz (18-0, 18 KO) figures to be an absolute war. The 23-year-old has passed every test thus far with flying colors, most recently stopping the aforementioned Kavaliauskas in August. If he can put on a similarly dominant performance against “Ava,” it’ll be hard to argue that he’s not ready for a shot at Errol Spence Jr. or the other division elites.