Vergil Ortiz’s favorite fighter is Jose Ramirez. Now Ortiz trains beside him.

Junior middleweight contender Ortiz will return as the co-feature on Saturday at the SaveMart Center in Fresno, California, against Thomas Dulorme ahead of a fight with Tim Tszyu on Aug. 3. 

Ortiz and his team are staying focused on Dulorme (26-6-1, 17 KOs) but the unbeaten star, whose record is 20-0 (20 KOs), is unapologetic in his praise of his peer Ramirez.

“He has been my favorite fighter for a long time, and I was not scared to express that when I met him for the first time,” Ortiz told BoxingScene. “Out of everyone in my entire career, he has been the one who has given me the most advice in boxing and life.”

They are both trained by Robert Garcia with Ortiz also working a lot with his father, Vergil Ortiz Sr. 

“I try to separate my fighters at different times so they could get their own work, but they like working together,” said Garcia. “Vergil started really early, Jose would come in half-an-hour after, so they kind of train together. They have a really good bond and have become really good friends.”

“I am always learning stuff off Jose,” continued Ortiz. “Being at the press conference was no different. He really expressed how he felt, he thanked all of his teammates, something I failed to do in my press conference. Usually I know what to say, but I really didn’t know what to say, because I felt like I have said everything at this point.”

Ramirez might have started as Ortiz’s favorite fighter, but now he serves as a mentor to harness a potential superstar that many believe Vergil could be.

But it comes full circle as Ramirez will see one of his favorite fighters in the ring with him on Saturday as well.

“[Oscar De La Hoya] was my favorite fighter growing up,” said Ramirez, at Thursday’s press conference.

So, on Saturday night, three generations of inspiration for Mexican-American fighters will be on display. De La Hoya, who promotes the show under the Golden Boy Promotions’ banner, was the 1992 Olympic gold medalist who went on to have a Hall of Fame career. Ramirez turned pro only a few years after De La Hoya retired and went on to become a world champion. Now Ortiz hopes to be the heir to the throne and continue the inspiration for the next generation.