Vergil Ortiz Jr. to end nine-month layoff August 6 against Avanesyan

Vergil Ortiz Jr. is back following his hospitalization in March.

The rising welterweight star will headline a Golden Boy on DAZN card against David Avanesyan on August 6. The bout will likely land at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

ESPN was first to report the story.

Ortiz (18-0, 18 KOs) was scheduled to fight Michael McKinson in March, but fell ill the week of the fight and was hospitalized in Los Angeles due to rhabdomyolysis, a breakdown of muscle tissue that is generally caused by overexertion.

Now fully recovered, Ortiz is ready to challenge a perennial contender in Avanesyan (29-3-1, 17 KOs), 33, of Russia, who has scored six straight knockouts following a TKO loss to former title challenger Egidijus Kavaliauskas.

Ortiz (18-0, 18 KOs), of Dallas, is coming off the best performance of his career, an eighth-round TKO of Kavaliauskas last August 14 in Frisco. The 24-year-old was hurt in the second round but rallied to drop Kavaliauskas five times en route to the emphatic stoppage.