JARON ENNIS, VERGIL ORTIZ ENGAGE IN WAR OF WORDS ON SOCIAL MEDIA
Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. are fighting.
Unfortunately, it’s taking place on social media rather than in the ring.
Ennis went on X to declare he’s moving on from a potential Ortiz bout, blaming his rival and their team for the fight not materializing. Ortiz responded quickly, saying he and his handlers did their part in trying to make it happen.
“I did everything in my power to make this fight happen for the fans,” Ennis wrote on X.
“I waited long enough, and I stayed quiet through it all. It looks like Vergil or his team really didn't want to fight. I came to his fight in his hometown and told him he was next. That was November, it’s March and still nothing. It’s time to move on. Two-division champion up next. I told y’all the truth was gone come to the light.”
Ortiz responded: “Since nobody is smart enough to know how to read between the lines and see we actually tried to make the fight happen despite all the ongoing legal issues, I’ll spell it out for you and everybody else. A lot of ya’ll must’ve missed out on critical thinking time in school."
Ortiz later added: “He did everything in his favor to make the fight happen, except, you know, the one and only time we were both offered to fight each other in Saudi Arabia. Ya’ll can cope all ya’ll want. Doesn’t change the past.”
Ortiz’s manager, Richard Mirigian, also got in on the action, saying Ennis turned down two opportunities to make the fight happen.
“You serious?” he wrote. “You did everything you could? You waited while we tried cause your alternative is 7 figures left? YOU TURNED THE FIGHT DOWN TWICE and you watched Ortiz sue to try and fight you NOW AGAIN and do everything he could? Really? He spent more than you made last in your fight to try and fight you a third time, even now, still, you’re going to act delusional. You know Ortiz didn't turn the fight down, but we know who did and so do you. Go grab a strap or TWO. Will be that much sweeter after for Ortiz.”
The seeds were planted last fall for the fight to happen early this year.
On Oct. 11, Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs), a former unified Ring, IBF and WBA welterweight champion, made his 154-pound debut with a first-round finish of Uisma Lima.
The 28-year-old Philadelphia native traveled to Fort Worth, Texas, to watch Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs), The Ring's No. 1-ranked junior middleweight, stop former 154-pound title challenger Erickson Lubin in two rounds on Nov. 8.
After the fight, Ennis and Ortiz were in the ring together and exchanged words, promising the next time they stepped into the ring, it’d be against each other. Then, as has often been the case, boxing politics intervened to prevent one of the best fights that can be made in boxing.
Ortiz’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, has been at the crux of the impasse, saying in a video he posted on his Instagram account on Jan. 9 that Ortiz deserved a 60-40 split with the winner getting an extra 5% added to his purse. Days later, he called out Mirigian on Instagram for impeding negotiations and said he’s the only one who negotiates Ortiz’s fights.
That was just the start of what has been an ugly couple of months between Ortiz and De La Hoya. On Jan. 16, Ortiz filed a lawsuit seeking to have his contract with De La Hoya’s company, Golden Boy Promotions, terminated.
Ortiz’s attorney, Gregory M. Smith, cited declaratory relief, breach of contract and interference with [prospective] economic advantage as grounds for ending that agreement in the lawsuit filed with the U.S. District Court in Nevada.
Ortiz’s team then pressed forward and were nearing an agreement to face Ennis on April 18 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas. However, Golden Boy was granted a temporary restraining order on Feb. 13 to block the fight.
Ortiz filed an emergency motion to have the TRO lifted, but a Nevada judge ruled in Golden Boy Promotions’ favor on March 3. That ruling meant the legal battle will now head to arbitration, and Ortiz can’t negotiate or contact other promoters in the meantime.
An arbitrator has until Sept. 2 to make a ruling on the matter. Ortiz has been signed to Golden Boy Promotions since turning pro in 2016 and signed a three-year contract extension with De La Hoya's company in May 2024.
Meanwhile, Ennis, the Ring's No. 5-ranked junior middleweight, isn't short of options when it comes to who he could face next. IBF 154-pound champion Josh Kelly might be the most likely possibility, given he's also promoted by Matchroom. Kelly (18-1-1, 9 KOs) defeated Bakhram Murtazaliev by majority decision on Jan. 31 to win the belt.
If Ennis were to dethrone Kelly, it'd make a prospective bout against Ortiz even bigger. But, it seems at the moment, frustrated fans will believe Ennis vs. Ortiz will happen when they see it.
. I came to his fight in his home town and told him he was next. That was November, it’s march and still nothing. It’s time to move on. Two division champion up next. 
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