Maurice Hooker to fans booing after loss to Vergil Ortiz: “F*** y’all”

Maurice Hooker gave a great effort in a spirited battle with Vergil Ortiz Jr tonight in Texas, coming up short when he was stopped in the seventh round.

Hooker claims that he hurt his hand, which caused the stoppage more than the damage Ortiz had done, though he took nothing away from Ortiz’s ability in his post-fight interview.

That interview got a little testy between Hooker and the fans in Fort Worth, too, as they booed when he talked about the injury:

If you can’t watch, Hooker said plainly, “To everybody booing, fuck y’all!” Hooker (27-2-3, 18 KO) stepped out of the ring and sort of gestured toward those in the audience, though it didn’t go any further than that.

It was probably especially hurtful for Hooker given that not only did he fight hard and give Ortiz (17-0, 17 KO) easily his toughest test yet as a pro, but Hooker is from nearby Dallas, as is Ortiz. The crowd was clearly pro-Ortiz throughout the fight, though.

Fans are allowed to boo and cheer as they wish, but Hooker was the guy in there fighting, and you can certainly understand him objecting to people booing him after they got a really good fight, and he probably did suffer an injury. Maurice Hooker’s never been an excuse-maker before, I don’t know why he’d start now.