Vergil Ortiz Jr. is among those who believe his upcoming showdown with Israil Madrimov will steal the spotlight on a loaded Riyadh Season show.

The unbeaten interim WBC junior middleweight titlist made a point to pick Uzbekistan’s Madrimov as his first challenger. Their mouthwatering clash is part of a loaded Feb. 22 show at Kingdom Arena in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.

Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) contacted at least four top-rated fighters for the assignment before his team settled on Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs), the best credentialed among his available choices.

“I welcome any challenge,” Ortiz said during Monday’s launch press conference at Outernet London. “We want to fight the best. I don’t care who it is. We fought [Serhii] Bohachuk. We were ready to fight Boots (IBF welterweight titlist Jaron Ennis) but that fell through.

“Now we’re here with Madrimov. I just want to be a throwback fighter. You know, like those fighters that we used to watch on HBO Boxing. Those are the times I want to be like those classic fights. That’s the goal.”

Ortiz is a slight favorite among several sportsbooks, though Madrimov—a former WBA junior middleweight titlist—is very much viewed as a live underdog. Madrimov is The Ring’s No. 2 contender at 154, while Ortiz is No. 5 on the strength of his impressive 2024 campaign.

What began as a bounce back year for Ortiz—who didn’t fight at all in 2023—ended as his best campaign to date. A pair of first-round knockouts paved the way for a Fight of the Year contender in a majority decision win over Serhii Bohachuk (25-2, 24 KOs) last Aug. 10 in Las Vegas, Nevada.

At no point was there ever any consideration for a soft touch for Ortiz’s first defense of his secondary title. Only the best need apply as far as Ortiz was concerned.

Madrimov fits the bill, even on the heels of his lone career defeat. It came against one of the sport’s very best in Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 pound-for-pound fighter who abdicated The Ring and undisputed welterweight championship to campaign at junior middleweight.

Crawford defeated Madrimov by a narrow decision to win a major title in a fourth weight division. Madrimov’s stock still soared in defeat and is viewed to deliver an even stiffer challenge than was the case as Saunders.

“This is going to be a classic fight for sure,” vowed Ortiz. “I feel like this fight has a chance to steal the night. I’m very excited, very motivated for it. Madrimov is an elite fighter and I’m excited to share the ring with him.”