Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz - 2026?

[Sendo Takeshi]

Nice. Didn't even take them a year to make it happen.

[Ruthless-RKO]

No titles though

[Cent0089]

Finally

[Ruthless-RKO]

Vergil Ortiz and Jaron Ennis almost set for April clash

Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs) and “Boots” Ennis have been engaged in negotiations dating back to early last year. Ennis, though, wanted a warm-up fight in his new weight class before taking on The Ring’s No. 1 contender at 154 pounds.

Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) quickly dispensed of Uisma Lima in the first round in October and Ortiz needed less than two rounds to stop longtime contender Erickson Lubin one month later. After the latter, Ennis and Ortiz faced off in the ring, kicking off more contentious talks for a fight that won’t be contested for a title, but will crown the consensus best boxer at junior middleweight.

The process became more complicated last month when Ortiz sued his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions. The suit references efforts to finalize this fight and accused De La Hoya of efforts to undermine such a matchup.

Texas’ Ortiz, 27, has never fought for more than an interim title, but he owns quality wins over Israil Madrimov, Serhii Bohachuk and Lubin.

Philadelphia’s Ennis, 28, is a former Ring, IBF and WBA welterweight champion. He’s rated No. 5 by The Ring at 154 pounds.

[MPW]

No titles though

The bout could possibly be for the Ring Magazine title, if the editorial board so decides. The SWW/JMW championship is currently vacant, and Ortiz is rated #1 while Ennis is #5.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Ben Whittaker Expects To Make U.S. Debut On Jaron Ennis' Undercard

Whittaker (10-0-1, 7 KOs), a 2020 Olympic silver medalist for Great Britain and a 2025 Ring Awards finalist for “Prospect of the Year,” expects to make his debut on American soil on the undercard of Jaron Ennis’ next fight.

“It’s a good feeling. It shows that you are doing something right and the hard work is paying off,” Whittaker told The Ring recently. “It’s only right to fight in the U.S. soon and make my name. It’s only up from here.”

It appears Whittaker’s next assignment will be on the undercard of a high-profile event. The Ring reported on Monday that a deal between Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. could be finalized this week for an April date in Las Vegas.

Whittaker, a light heavyweight contender, signed with Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing in October after a run with Ben Shalom’s Boxxer. Whittaker made his Matchroom debut in November and blasted Benjamin Gavazi in the first round.

The 28-year-old Whittaker now wants to ensure his flashy and flamboyant fighting style materializes into a meaningful career as he moves through the ranks.

“I'm in a big position with Matchroom behind me,” Whittaker said. “I have to win and look good. If you don’t win, the show doesn’t go on.

“I can fight from all angles, and now it’s showing that I can hurt people, too. It’s going to be an exciting year for me. I know how good I am, but you can’t rush the process. I want to get there as a champion.”

[tiny_acres]

I still don't believe it will happen in April, but I hope I'm wrong

[MPW]

April does seem kind of tight, even if it's the end of the month. With all the posturing and out-of-ring squabbling that's been going on, I'll be surprised if the fight actually takes place, although I hope it does.

[Evander]

We're waiting
If they're talking April 25th that's over two months from now.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Tom Brown tells me he wasn’t alerting GBP to Matchroom attempting to stage Ortiz-Ennis on April 18. That he assumed GBP was co-promoting the event and felt it could hurt PBC’s May 2 Benavidez-Zurdo fight that’s a co-promotion with GBP.

[Ruthless-RKO]

GBP obtained a temporary restraining order in Nevada to stop the fight from proceeding for now while it’s in a legal battle with Ortiz

- Mike C

[Evander]

For us fans this means both of them will have two fights and then come back to the table later in the year of 27

Or lets go April May

[Evander]

Gonna have to put on a quality undercard if they go with it.

[Evander]

I'd do a two fight deal
One on the West Coast One in Philly

[joshj909]

I'd do a two fight deal
One on the West Coast One in Philly

I think a two fight deal makes sense and can also help with negotiating percentages. Winner gets higher percentage in the rematch. You'd only argue against that if you thought you would lose.

[tiny_acres]

Judge stops negotiations pending GBP vs Ortiz contract litigation.

Fight will not happen soon. Ennis better find a new dance partner

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hearing Friday To Determine If Ennis-Ortiz Happens April 18 In Las Vegas

The highly anticipated junior middleweight fight was all but set for April 18 in Las Vegas before a Nevada judge granted Ortiz’s estranged promoter, Golden Boy, a temporary restraining order Friday to halt the bout from proceeding.

An emergency hearing is set for Friday to determine if Matchroom Boxing, Ennis’ promoter, can stage the fight without Golden Boy’s involvement. This comes after Ortiz filed a lawsuit against Oscar De La Hoya’s company on January 16, requesting the judge to terminate his promotional agreement on the grounds the contract is now invalid.

The basis for Ortiz’s suit is language in his contract states Golden Boy must have a broadcast agreement in place at all times. Golden Boy’s longtime streaming partner, DAZN, has informed the company that a renewal is contingent on the Ortiz-Ennis fight being made.

Sources said there’s hope all parties can resolve the issue ahead of Friday’s hearing. And it’s possible still the fight could move off the proposed April 18 date in Las Vegas. WrestleMania will be held that same day in “Sin City.” The expectation is that the judge will rule Friday or early next week, if this isn’t resolved before then.

Whatever happens, sources said Golden Boy won’t be involved with any Ortiz fight with Ennis.

The fallout won’t just impact those two top-level fighters.

A planned March 14 Golden Boy event on DAZN, which would feature a rematch between Ring strawweight champ Oscar Collazo and Melvin Jerusalem and a welterweight bout between Arnold Barboza and Kenneth Sims – could be scrapped if the streaming service moves on from a Golden Boy partnership, sources said.

[joshj909]

Why wouldn't Goldenboy just get on board with the fight and take their cut? I'm sure the contract states that they must act in the best interest of their fighter, which they're quite clearly not doing, which then puts them in breach.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Breaking News

Eric Gomez President of
Golden Boy Promotions says in a legal declaration that Golden Boy would still guarantee Ortiz’s purse of $3 million plus any promotional upside

Golden Boy remains ready and willing to represent Ortiz in negotiating for and promoting a bout between Ortiz and Jaron Ennis for April 18th in Las Vegas-

[Ruthless-RKO]

Eddie Hearn: ‘Next few days are the last to make’ Vergil Ortiz-Jaron Ennis

Eddie Hearn is not quite ready to move on from the Vergil Ortiz-Jaron “Boots” Ennis ordeal.

However, Hearn, the head of Matchroom Boxing, admits that his side is quickly running out of time before it will be forced to make its next move.

Arguably the best possible fight to make in the sport today, Ortiz-Ennis remains at the mercy of an ongoing two-way lawsuit. Ortiz and Golden Boy Promotions are deadlocked in a legal battle that is threatening to head to arbitration, absent a ruling to block the move that would have to come this week.


“I think [this] week – the next few days are the last to make the Vergil Ortiz fight,” Hearn told Boxing Scene and other reporters on the hot-button topic. “I’m still hopeful, simply because it’s the best fight in American boxing.

“But … we have a job to do for Jaron Ennis.”

Ennis, 35-0 (31 KOs), recently re-signed with Matchroom and currently holds the WBA interim 154lbs title. Ortiz, 24-0 (22 KOs), is the current WBC interim titleholder at the weight.

The two met face-to-face immediately after Ortiz’s second-round knockout victory over Erickson Lubin last November 9 in Fort Worth, Texas. The bout took place just outside of Ortiz’s Grand Prairie hometown, and Philadelphia’s Ennis was happy to make the trip to hostile territory, even overcoming travel issues to arrive in time for the memorable in-ring staredown.

How negotiations went would depend on who you ask. Golden Boy co-founder and chairman Oscar De La Hoya made the strange decision to negotiate through the media and constantly insist that Ortiz had other options if this dream fight fell through.

The nonsense was coupled with the expiration of Golden Boy’s deal with DAZN by the end of last year, though the two sides were previously in talks for a two-year renewal. However, Ortiz’s side exercised a clause in the promotional contract and insisted that the unbeaten boxer was now a free agent.

The matter is now for the US district courts to decide. Legal representatives for Golden Boy and Ortiz appeared before a Nevada judge on February 20 to determine whether to remove the temporary restraining order secured by Golden Boy or if Ortiz’s free agent status is valid.

The hearing was followed by Golden Boy’s filed motion to advance the case to arbitration, while Ortiz’s team filed a motion to dismiss outright.

A ruling was not yet made as this story goes to publication.

It unfairly leaves Ennis and Matchroom in a predicament, whether to wait out the legal drama well beyond their control or just move on to the next-best option.

Ennis’ secondary WBA title makes him the de facto mandatory for Xander Zayas, the unified WBA/WBO 154lbs titleholder. Zayas defeated Abass Baraou to win the WBA strap and defend his WBO belt in a January 31 split decision win in his birth town of San Juan, Puerto Rico.

Earlier that day and on the other side of the Atlantic, England’s Josh Kelly pulled off a considerable upset. The 2016 Great Britain Olympian traded knockdowns with Russia’s Bakhram Murtazaliev en route to a majority decision win to claim the IBF 154lbs title in Newcastle, England.

Ennis and Kelly are both with Matchroom. Zayas is promoted by Top Rank, which Matchroom partnered with for Saturday’s Emanuel Navarrete-Eduardo “Sugar” Nunez two-belt 130lbs unification in Glendale, Arizona.

“If we can’t get Vergil Ortiz, then the target we want is Xander Zayas,” insisted Hearn. “And if we can’t get him, we have another Matchroom fighter – Josh Kelly, who just won the IBF title. That’s another opportunity as well.

“I’d like to do Boots versus Vergil Ortiz and Xander versus Josh Kelly. Then the winners fight each other.”

The originally targeted date for Ortiz-Ennis was April 18, which BS has learned is now less and less likely, even as a placeholder. A date in mid-May or June seems far more realistic, but that would still mean Ortiz settling with Golden Boy as early as possible.

“If we can get it done, it will reinvigorate the sport,” Hearn said. “So just give it a couple of more days. If we can’t get it done then, then you can get my comment [on what’s next for Ennis].”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Golden Boy-Vergil Ortiz off to arbitration; Jaron Ennis fight in doubt

Golden Boy gained a favorable ruling Monday when a Nevada judge granted Oscar De La Hoya’s promotion interim injunctive relief against Vergil Ortiz Jr.

The judge ruled the legal battle will now head to arbitration where Golden Boy and Ortiz will look to settle the matter. And with it, efforts to stage a spring fight between Ortiz and Jaron Ennis took a major blow.

"I hereby order that Ortiz may not negotiate or contract with third parties for future fights before the arbitrator addresses the parties' dispute set forth in this action," the judge ruled.

There’s no timetable for this situation to be resolved, throwing Ortiz's immediate future into doubt. The judge asked that the arbitrator helps settle the matter by Sept. 2. Ortiz surely hopes for a quicker resolution so he can continue his ascending career.

Ortiz seeks to become a promotional free agent; this all stems from a January lawsuit the boxer filed against Golden Boy.
"Justice prevails," De La Hoya posted on social media Monday evening. He tagged Matchroom Boxing, Ortiz, and the fighter’s manager, Rick Mirigian.

It’s just the latest legal battle between Golden Boy and one of its star boxers. In this lawsuit, Ortiz argued his contract with Golden Boy was in breach as the promoter no longer held a media rights deal. Ortiz then negotiated a multi-fight deal with Matchroom, kicking off with a spring showdown against Ennis.

Those plans were in motion until Golden Boy was granted a temporary restraining order against Ortiz that halted any talks with other promoters. The sides exchanged legal filings over the following weeks, while those involved hoped for resolution that would keep the Ennis fight on track.

The judger presiding heard arguments 10 days prior during a hearing in Nevada. Ortiz hoped for the TRO to be dismissed, so he could proceed with plans for an April fight with Ennis.

It’s among the most anticipated matchups in boxing today. Ortiz is The Ring’s No. 1 boxer at 154 pounds.

[CaptainSpacerod]

Nice one Oscar

[Cent0089]

Fu§k Ennis, Ortiz, their promoters and managers

[MPW]

Well, it appears more fighting is going to get done in the courtroom than in the boxing ring.

[Evander]

It can't generate the current buy
It's not big enough to most people
I'm moving on ... a bit