Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Erickson Lubin will meet in a high-stakes matchup on November 8 with major implications in the junior middleweight division.

The WBC interim champion Ortiz is The Ring’s No. 1-ranked 154-pounder, Lubin is fifth. Once the dust settles from their Dickies Arena duel in Fort Worth, Texas, the winner will be well-positioned for even more meaningful matchups in the coming year.

Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) believes he has all the tools that are necessary to dismantle Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs).

“I feel like he's a great fighter, but right now is my time,” Lubin said during a “Face 2 Face” conversation with Ortiz. “I have faced the toughest guys in the division. I am ready to prove myself, fighting against a third undefeated opponent in a row, and a top contender. I am looking to solidify myself as the top 154-pounder.”

Lubin has scored three solid wins in a row versus Luis Arias, Jesus Ramos Jr., and most recently in May against Ardreal Holmes Jr. since suffering his second career loss to Sebastian Fundora in a Fight of the Year contender in 2022.

In the fight against Fundora, they traded knockdowns and Lubin led on two of the cards by a point and was tied on another before Lubin's corner stopped the fight after nine rounds due to the mounting punishment he was absorbing.

During the pre-fight buildup, some prognosticators have believed that Lubin will suffer the same fate against the power-punching Ortiz.

“I read comments online, I see how people are overlooking me,” Lubin continued. “But that's just fuel to my fire. With people overlooking me, it's bringing back that fire in me.”

The only other loss of Lubin’s career came by a first-round knockout against Jermell Charlo in 2017. But just like the Fundora fight, Lubin followed it up with a six-fight winning streak including victories against the still-in-his-prime former unified junior middleweight champion Jeison Rosario and Terrell Gausha.

Ortiz meanwhile, is coming in hot off an impressive decision win against Israil Madrimov, who fought to a nip-and-tuck affair against current pound-for-pound king Terence Crawford in August 2024.

“I was actually impressed with the Madrimov win because I had him losing [going into] that fight,” said Lubin. “But he went in there and dominated, and he dominated better than Crawford did.”

Like Lubin, Ortiz has also looked vulnerable at times, most notably in the fight before Madrimov in August 2024 when he survived two knockdowns against Serhii Bohachuk to sneak by with a majority decision win.

“I can see it in his eyes. I know he's not overlooking me, and I am not overlooking him,” Lubin said. “He knows where I come from, what type of fighter I am. I see the guys that he's fought. He made easy work out of those dudes … I will prove myself on fight night, we have the game plans drawn up.”