A vicious right hand stole the show on Saturday night where Vergil Ortiz took on Serhii Bohachuk – and it didn’t come in the ring.
Prior to the main event in Las Vegas, a video went viral showing two fans fighting in the stands.
It all kicked off before Ortiz’s winCredit: Fight Hub
In the clip, the pair went at it for roughly five seconds while others around them cheered.
It all became very serious very quickly, though, as one of the men landed a huge right hand on the other, knocking him out cold.
Boxing reporter Steve Kim tweeted from ringside: “Whoa!! Fight breaks out and some dude gets absolutely clocked with a right hand.
“Guy got KO’d, geez. That was Tommy Hearns vs Roberto Duran.
“Thankfully with the elevated press row seats I got a clear view of it…
“Seriously, this guy threw a right hand that was straight as an arrow, turned over correctly on his big knuckles.
“I may not see a better punch tonight here at the Mandalay Bay.”
Another boxing reporter, Lance Pugmire, was told by a source working at the event: “He [the puncher] is headed to jail right now. The [KO victim] is headed to the hospital right now and then he may be heading to jail.”
One fan reacted to the video by tweeting: “Dude used his forearm to get the perfect punching range, guy had his chin in the air and then got smoked.”
A second said: “One of the most BRUTAL crowd fight KOs you will ever see. Hope that man is okay.”
One right hand ended the crowd fight in a flashCredit: Fight Hub
While a third added: “KO of the year!”
Once the real boxing action began, fans were treated to a barnburner.
Ortiz was floored twice by Bohachuk, but got up both times and battled through to win on points.
Judges turned in scores of 113-113, 114-112 and 114-112 in favour of Ortiz in what is likely to be a Fight of the Year contender.
“I’m the best in the world,” he said after claiming the WBC ‘interim’ super-welterweight belt.
However, Bohachuk’s promoter, Tom Loeffler, hit back at the scoring in the post-fight press conference. “Vergil Ortiz Jr. did show he’s a true warrior going twelve rounds with Serhii Bohachuk.
“We’re going to go back to the hotel and celebrate because Serhii knows he’s the champion. This is one of the candidates for the Fight for the Year. These hometown decisions need to stop. It’s for the good of the sport.”
Ortiz is one of a number of fighters touted as the next opponent for WBA champion Terence Crawford.
Asked about the possibility, Ortiz replied: “Let’s do it. I want it so bad.”
Other possible bouts are unification fights against Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora. Canelo Alvarez is another name mentioned, while Bernard Hopkins has thrown Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ name into the mix.