Report: Vergil Ortiz Jr vs. Eimantas Stanionis to take place March 18 in Texas

Vergil Ortiz Jr. is one step closer to a long-awaited title shot.

However, he'll have to be victorious against Eimantas Stanionis to get there. The pair of unbeaten welterweights will do battle on March 18, sources told FightNights.com.

Oritz's promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, won the rights to the WBA "regular" welterweight title fight at last month's purse bid with a winning figure of $2.3 million. And in turn, the scheduled 12-round bout will stream on DAZN.

Stanionis (14-0, 9 KOs), of Lithuania, comes into the fight as the "champion." He won the secondary welterweight title with a split-decision victory over Radzhab Butaev in April while Ortiz (19-0, 19 KOs) has seen nothing but knockout wins. He is fresh off a ninth-round TKO of England's Michael McKinson last August 6 in Texas.

Stanionis is entitled to 75% of the winning purse bid and Ortiz is guaranteed $575,000 but is set to receive more thanks to additional support from Golden Boy.

Ortiz, 24, made a splash last year with a pair of stoppage wins over former junior welterweight titlist Maurice Hooker and Egidijus Kavaliauskas. He was originally slated to face McKinson last March, but the bout was postponed after Ortiz was hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis. The illness is caused when Ortiz was set to fight Michael McKinson in March, but the fight was postponed after Ortiz was hospitalized with rhabdomyolysis.

According to medical professionals, rhabdomyolysis is a breakdown of muscle tissue and can be fatal if not treated. This can be caused by a combination of overexertion and rapid weight cutting, which results in muscles secreting a harmful protein myoglobin into the blood, which can lead to kidney damage.

The 28-year-old Stanionis holds a win over Thomas Dulorme. He also fought former 147-pound titleholder Luis Collazo last August but the bout ended in a no contest after Collazo was unable to continue following an accidental headbutt.