Former junior welterweight world titlist Maurice Hooker is going to be sidelined for at least two months but he will have the opportunity for another meaningful fight when he is ready to return, according to Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez.

Hooker broke his right hand during an action-packed seventh round knockout loss to rising star and fellow Dallas native Vergil Ortiz Jr. in their scheduled 12-round welterweight bout that headlined a Golden Boy Promotions card on DAZN on Saturday night at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

Hooker visited a hand specialist on Monday and had his hand placed in a split, Brian “Bomac” McIntyre, Hooker’s trainer and manager, told BoxingScene.

“His hand is broken,” McIntyre said. “Too swollen to cast. Splinted today and will cast Monday for at least four weeks. No hitting for two months.”

Although the 22-year-old Ortiz (17-0, 17 KOs) used a variety of punches to do damage — stiff left jabs that found a home on Hooker’s face often, solid body shots and hard right hands to the head, which is his best weapon – Hooker (27-2-3, 18 KOs), 33, was more than willing to engage in a firefight and had his moments. He marked up Ortiz’s face but got knocked down in late in the sixth round with a left uppercut-right hand combination.

Ortiz got the knockout in the seventh round, but not from a big punch. He did land a grazing right, but Hooker simultaneously injured his hand and took a step back before going down to a knee in obvious pain. He was holding his injured fist as referee Laurence Cole counted him out at 36 seconds. Hooker, who was trailing 60-53, 59-54 and 58-55 at the time of the knockout, said during his in-ring post-fight interview that he heard his hand “pop.”

After seeing the doctor on Monday, Hooker told BoxingScene, “I felt my hand break as soon as I landed that final punch in the seventh round on Saturday night. I’m in good spirits and enjoying time with my family. I’m going to follow doctor’s orders to ensure I come back 100 percent. Thanks to everyone who tuned in and supported the fight.”

He gave Ortiz, a fighter whose rise he has paid attention to since they are both from Dallas, credit for his victory but was upset by the crowd booing him during his interview, which he ended by cursing them out and flipping double middle fingers toward them.

He will have a chance to get back on track when he is healthy as his deal for the fight against Ortiz was part of a two-fight agreement with Golden Boy Promotions.

Gomez told BoxingScene the company was pleased by Hooker’s effort and the exciting fight he made with Ortiz and that they will be happy to put him in another fight when his hand is healed.

“We’ll do anther fight with him,” Gomez said. “Hooker put up a hell of a fight, a good fight with Vergil. Hooker lost the fight but he didn’t lose too much. He came to fight, he put up a good fight and he gave it his all.

“Once he is available to fight again we will talk to him and his team and see what we can get done, but we look forward to when he can come back.”

Gomez said they would talk to Hooker and McIntyre about matching him with any of the company’s welterweights or any other promotional outfit’s welterweights if a deal made sense.

“Any of our welterweights that are available,” Gomez said about who Hooker might face from within the Golden Boy stable. “And we can also make a deal with anyone else. No problem.”

The Golden Boy welterweights Gomez mentioned as potential opponents for Hooker included Alexis Rocha (16-1, 10 KOs), a 23-year-old southpaw from Santa Ana, California, who is coming off a 12-round decision loss to Rashidi Ellis in October; Ellis (23-0, 14 KOs), 27, of Lynn, Massachusetts, whose has notched impressive back-to-back wins over Rocha and Eddie Gomez; and Blair “The Flair” Cobbs (14-0-1, 9 KOs), a 31-year-old southpaw from Las Vegas, who has made a series of entertaining bouts on his way up the ranks.

“First let him heal up, get his hand right, and then we will see what’s next,” Gomez said.

In 2018, Hooker traveled to Terry Flanagan’s hometown of Manchester, England, and won a split decision to claim the vacant WBO 140-pound world title. Hooker made two successful defenses -- against Alex Saucedo and Mikkel LesPierre -- before getting stopped in the sixth round by Jose Ramirez in a title unification fight in Arlington, Texas, in July 2019.

Hooker returned in December 2019 for a quick first-round knockout of journeyman Uriel Perez at 144 pounds and then was due to fight former junior welterweight world titlist Regis Prograis at 143 pounds last April 17 in a DAZN main event at the MGM National Harbor in Oxon Hill, Maryland.

However, the fight was canceled due to the coronavirus pandemic and attempts to reschedule the bout last summer fell apart because Hooker said he could no longer make 143 pounds, the weight originally agreed to, and wanted to raise the weight limit to 145. Once the fight fell apart, Hooker made the move up to 147 pounds and faced Ortiz.

Dan Rafael was ESPN.com's senior boxing writer for fifteen years, and covered the sport for five years at USA Today. He was the 2013 BWAA Nat Fleischer Award winner for excellence in boxing journalism.