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After healing from rare medical condition, Vergil Ortiz Jr. is ready to get back to boxing

Ortiz was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condition that can lead to kidney failure.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. emerged victorious from the biggest fight of his life, and it wasn’t in the ring.

The 24-year-old Grand Prairie native is undefeated in 18 pro fights won by knockout and on Saturday, August 6, he will return to the ring after an absence of nearly a year.

The 12-round welterweight fight against Michael McKinson, to be held at Fort Worth’s Dickies Arena, will be Ortiz’s first since suffering a rare illness that caused him to cancel his scheduled March 19 fight in Los Angeles before McKinson himself.

A few days before their March contest, Ortiz began to feel very bad, his symptoms were concerning and his father, who is also his manager, had to take him to the hospital.

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“I started to feel very exhausted, fatigued, a fatigue that didn’t go away even if I rested,” Ortiz said in an interview for Al Dia.

Ortiz was diagnosed with rhabdomyolysis, a condition that occurs when dead fibers from an injured muscle begin to release substances that can poison the blood and lead to kidney failure.

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“We didn’t know what was going on until we went to the doctor and he told us that he had rhabdomyolysis, I had never heard of that disease in my life,” Ortiz said.

“Honestly I was relieved when they gave me an exact diagnosis of what it was, it would have been worse if they had told me they didn’t know what was going on with me.”

Time to reflect

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When Ortiz was asked if his perspective on life had changed due to the health problem he suffered, the boxer pondered his answer for a long time to try to find the right answer.

“That’s a good question, I don’t know how to answer it,” he said.

Did you feel vulnerable for the first time in your life?

“No, I didn’t feel vulnerable, mentally I was strong, even though physically I wasn’t.”

Ortiz said that he is fully recovered after following the doctor’s instructions.

“It wasn’t really hard to recover because the doctor’s instructions were to do absolutely nothing. I did absolutely nothing for three weeks, I didn’t even leave my house for three weeks,” he explained.

Ortiz’s last fight was on August 14, 2021 against Egidijus Kavaliauska, the longest wait time between fights in the Texan fighter’s career.

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“I have felt a great frustration of not being able to fight because I felt that I was not supporting my family, that I was just in my bedroom doing nothing and without a purpose in life, so that was difficult,” he said.

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