Promoter Oscar De La Hoya has called for a fight between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, following Ennis’s victory over Xander Zayas on Saturday. De La Hoya immediately began campaigning for the bout, positioning Ortiz as the primary draw.
Ennis secured the WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles with a seventh-round stoppage of the previously undefeated Zayas in Brooklyn. The win established him as a unified champion, but De La Hoya was quick to challenge him on behalf of Ortiz. The Golden Boy promoter first took to social media to congratulate the new champion before making his intentions clear. “Ennis, what a great fight. You are a machine,” De La Hoya stated, before issuing a direct call to action. “Let’s make the biggest fight in boxing today. Vergil Ortiz, Boots. Let’s go.”
Despite Ennis now holding two major world titles, De La Hoya has insisted that Ortiz Jr. holds the superior negotiating position. He argues that Ortiz’s star power makes him the ‘A-side’ in any potential matchup, a stance that sets the stage for complex promotional talks. “Having this fight in Las Vegas can be huge, but Virgil Ortiz has to be the favorite here when it comes to negotiations. As long as they’re favorable, we’ll make the fight happen. There’s no problems. I think everybody wants to see the fight.”
The immediate challenge establishes a clear conflict between two of the division’s top undefeated fighters. Ennis has stated his primary goal is to become the undisputed champion at 154 pounds, but also expressed interest in facing Ortiz. De La Hoya, however, remains firm on his client’s value. He dismissed the idea that Ennis’s new champion status would grant him leverage. “There’s no question that I have the man. I feel these negotiations will be negotiations just like any other fight, and they’ll go back and forth, but at the end of the day, Virgil Ortiz is the man.”
Should talks for the Ennis fight stall, De La Hoya noted that Ortiz has other significant options available, including bouts against Errol Spence Jr. or unified champion Sebastian Fundora. This provides Golden Boy with alternative paths while placing pressure on Ennis’s team to enter negotiations on terms favourable to Ortiz.
