Boxing Picks 2025- Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Erickson Lubin (Saturday 8th November)

The announcement finally came through from DAZN that they were going to increase the monthly subscription, but that would mean anyone purchasing would not have to pay for additional PPV cards going forward.

Perhaps the most worrying aspect of the announcement was the part where it was stated that there will be at least twelve such cards next year!

We have already noted that cards like the one that featured on the Joseph Parker vs Fabio Wardley event last month had no right to be placed on a PPV, but that has set the standard and so effectively DAZN are asking for PPV money up front and with a clear implication being that normal subscribers are going to bet getting next to nothing on the current package.

Dress it up all you like, but the underlying point is that Boxing continues to be a sport where fans are being asked to pay far too much money to even keep an interest in the sport.

You can understand the biggest fights having an added on price, to some extent anyway, but when basic, decent fights are now being placed behind a paywall, something is going to have to give.

At least this weekend there is a card in the United States that is going to be available to watch, but the next two weekends are both headed up by PPV events.

November 22nd is loaded and you can make a case for Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn II being on PPV again, but the future suggests even the standard Saturday night fight card will begin to cost more than people could have expected.

It has been a really tough year for the Boxing Picks, and there is little chance of a recovery to match the successes of last season.

Some has been down to poor Picks, but there has been a real misfortune to some of the selections too and will be something to think about in the slight 'off season' at the back end of December before a 'new game' begins in 2026.

Reports have a couple of very solid shows opening things off in January, but those have yet to be announced formally. However, the hope is that 2026 will be a stronger year both domestically and in the big World Title fight picture as we continue to wind down what has largely been an underwhelming 2025.

Vergil Ortiz Jr vs Erikson Lubin

If pictures ahead of this Light-Middleweight WBC Interim World Title fight are anything to go by, Vergil Ortiz Jr is not long for this Division.

Everyone still wants to see him go in with Jaron Ennis, but the Ortiz Jr team have suggested it is a fight that the Boots camp do not really want and that they are playing a PR game instead.

At the moment the only focus for Vergil Ortiz Jr is his own career and this is a loaded Division, although you would hope the organisations would want to see things cleared up.

Two Interim World Champions are in place, while it sounds like the IBF World Title will be defended in January.

Whether Vergil Ortiz Jr has the time to Unify this Division is another question though and many believe he may be moving into the Middleweight Division in 2026 and perhaps sooner rather than later.

He does have a couple of solid wins in the 154 pound Division, although some may be questioning whether Ortiz Jr can carry his power much beyond this weight class. Some of those questions will be answered this week when Vergil Ortiz Jr faces Erickson Lubin, a confident fighter who has only come up short against the likes of Jermell Charlo and Sebastian Fundora.

The most recent of those losses was in a barnstormer and Lubin has returned with three straight wins and has been able to take unbeaten records from his last two opponents.

Doing that again will the challenge for the 30 year old and the southpaw stance could cause some problems for the Interim Champion.

Erickson Lubin is experienced, but you do have to wonder if he can do enough to make Vergil Ortiz Jr question himself and perhaps even prevent him from coming forward and unleashing the shots that have cracked the older fighter before.

The expectations is that Ortiz Jr is going to have to warm himself into this one and he will have to try and force Erickson Lubin to work harder than he may want. We did see in the big fight with Sebastian Fundora that Lubin can give as good as he gets at times, but he was broken down by a bigger puncher and the feeling is that we still that happen in this one.

It should be a good fight for as long as it lasts, but Vergil Ortiz Jr can find a way to force his first Stoppage since April 2024.

There are some younger, developing prospects on the undercard and the likes of Amari Jones and Joshua Edwards should maintain their push up the World Rankings.

The chief support is a Super Middleweight Ten Rounder between David Stevens and Darius Fulghum who have both been beaten narrowly by Bektimir Melikuziev.

Both will be confident, but the heavier hands of Fulghum could show up here.

MY PICKS: Vergil Ortiz Jr to Win by KO/TKO @ 1.66 William Hill (2 Units)

Darius Fulghum to Win by KO/TKO @ 2.50 Sky Bet (2 Units)

Boxing 2025: 22-67, - 39.34 Units (111 Units Staked, - 35.44% Yield)