By Keith Idec

Oscar De La Hoya and his staff feel that they’re about to learn something significant about Vergil Ortiz Jr.

The explosive prospect has knocked out each of the 13 opponents he has encountered since making his pro debut three years ago. They’re sure, though, that Antonio Orozco is by far the most formidable foe Ortiz has agreed to face thus far.

They’ll fight Saturday night in a 12-round main event DAZN will stream from The Theatre at Grand Prairie in Ortiz’s hometown of Grand Prairie, Texas, just outside of Dallas.

If the 21-year-old welterweight tears through Orozco, too, De La Hoya and Co. will know Ortiz is everything they’ve been led to believe. Orozco has lost just once, to unbeaten WBC/WBO 140-pound champ Jose Ramirez, and the Mexican veteran hasn’t been knocked out.

Eric Gomez, Golden Boy Promotions’ president, discussed Ortiz-Orozco during a press conference Thursday in Grand Prairie.

“This is the toughest fight of his career,” Gomez said, referring to Ortiz. “This is the toughest fight. But he knows it. He knows that he’s been in the gym with other world champions and he’s sparred with some of the top fighters in the world, and he’s excelled in the gym. But now, there’s no more training. There’s no more sparring in the gym. This is a fight. This is a real fight. And it’s kinda like sink or swim for him. He understands how important this fight is.”

Only one of Ortiz’s 13 fights has gone beyond the third round. The 31-year-old Orozco (28-1, 17 KOs) is a durable, relentless contender who has gone 10 rounds five times and 12 rounds once, in his unanimous-decision defeat to Ramirez (25-0, 17 KOs) last September 14 in Fresno, California.

“He’s in great shape,” Gomez said of Ortiz. “He’s trained like never before. We’re very, very happy for him, that it’s a homecoming. But he’s gonna have his hands full on Saturday. And, you know, either he’s gonna elevate his game to another level, that proves that he belongs amongst the top fighters in the world. Or, it’s back to the drawing board, because he has a hungry guy in Antonio Orozco, that’s gonna come [to] take it all away.”

Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.