Vergil Ortiz Jnr’s Friday settlement with Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions frees him to pursue the best opponents, but the next question after that whole anxiety-filled split is who will he fight next?
After opposing lawsuits over lacking pay and inappropriate rival-promoter contact have been squashed, Texas’ WBC interim 154lbs champion Ortiz, 24-0 (22 KOs), now has to contend with apparent disinterest from the full junior-middleweight champions he’s targeting.
Newly unified WBO/WBA champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis, 36-0 (32 KOs), was achingly close to striking a deal with Ortiz earlier this year after attending Ortiz’s dominant second-round knockout of Erickson Lubin in Texas in late November.
But Ortiz’s legal strife with Golden Boy paused all that, leading Philadelphia’s Ennis to fight then-unified champion Xander Zayas, stopping him by seventh-round TKO last month in Brooklyn.
And now, Ennis’ promoter Eddie Hearn is all too happy to underline how Ennis’ status has changed, telling a reporter this week, “We’re a unified champion and you’re a voluntary defense,” Hearn said toward Team Ortiz. “Today’s price is not yesterday’s price.”
Ortiz manager Rick Mirigian said while he hopes Ennis and Hearn strive to make the fight with Ortiz, he expects the promoter to turn toward the IBF 154lbs champion he promotes, England’s Josh Kelly. Should that happen, Mirigian said he’d expect DAZN, which streams both fighters’ bouts, to force Ennis-Ortiz after that.
“Vergil will stay at 154 for now and if ‘Boots’ ducks him, then [Ortiz] will for sure get him in the second fight, as there’s no way the network lets ‘Boots’ do it,” Mirigian told BoxingScene Friday night.
“Oscar and Eddie must fight the rest out… my part is done. Oscar is a feisty one, so Eddie better watch out.”
If Ennis moves to Kelly, Ortiz would want WBC champion Sebastian Fundora next, but while Ortiz and Golden Boy squabbled, the WBC elevated little-known Ermal Hadribeaj to mandatory challenger and Fundora selected him for a fall fight.
“We tried to fight Fundora. We asked multiple times and recently we asked before [Hadribeaj was] announced for Fundora,” Mirigian said, “We are the [interim champion] still and they announce Fundora to fight some person no one has ever heard of.
“[Fundora promoter] Sampson [Lewkowicz] would not, and has not, let Fundora near Vergil, as he knows what the outcome will be.”
Lewkowicz responded forcefully.
“Let him know, and you can put this on the record, that it looks like [Mirigian] doesn’t know how to manage his fighter. He could lose the fight [with Fundora] now because my friendship with Golden Boy is deeper than he thinks,” Lewkowicz said. “What he did with Golden Boy is shameful. And to say that is shameful too. The only thing he’s doing is hurting his fighter because he doesn’t know how to shut his mouth.”
Mirigian said the four-belt system in boxing is flawed, allowing for title fights to be “easily manipulated.”
“The WBC is my favorite of them all and the one that truly gives back to the sport and, I feel, truly cares about fighters. I just wish they would tighten up a few things to help fix the sport. They are bigger than all the other belts, profile wise, and the most recognized period world wide. We need change,” Mirigian said.
Few know WBC rules better than Lewkowicz, however, and he said he is free to take Fundora to the Ennis-Kelly winner for a unification instead of giving Ortiz an early 2027 fight.
“This defense is mandatory, then it will be ‘Boots,’” Lewkowicz said.
He said he feels no obligation to Ortiz, and Mirigian.
“Absolutely not, especially now,” Lewkowicz said. “He had a shot. Not now. I have my schedule, and I will let you know [Sebastian’s trainer-father] Freddy Fundora and Sebastian have never said no to any challenge, and he’s demonstrated many times he’s fought quality opponents, including Tim Tszyu.
“I’d rather go to a unification with ‘Boots.’ So, now [Ortiz] is two years away. He’s a good fighter, not a great fighter, but he doesn’t sell, and he has the wrong management. He’s supposed to be the mandatory, but thanks to his management fighting with De La Hoya, he lost the opportunity. So who is afraid? His boxer should be afraid of his manager.
“Now, he’ll wait.”
Earlier Friday, Ortiz trainer Robert Garcia told BoxingScene that if his fighter was going to be stonewalled at 154lbs, it might make sense to move to middleweight, where the IBF belt is vacant, and the others are worn by veteran Janibek Alimkhanuly (WBO), Carlos Adames (WBC) and 42-year-old Erislandy Lara (WBA).
Mirigian said Ortiz, 27, has committed to DAZN to fight any of these fighters at 154lbs: Ennis, Fundora, former undisputed champion Jermell Charlo, ex-three-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jnr, Zayas and Tszyu.
“There is nothing else Vergil Ortiz can do than that,” Mirigian said. “Show me another fighter who would commit to that? Everyone has an excuse. Everyone.”
At least the legal battle is over so they can concentrate on fights in the ring.
Mirigian credited Golden Boy President Eric Gomez for keeping the dialogue in flow during the strain.
“We both had a strong relationship with Eric… [Gomez] has a very caring side to him, a personal side that extends past boxing,” Mirigian said. “I think Eric understands the value of relationships and he invests in them.
“So in a ‘wartime’ setting, that equity Eric had with us persevered through bad times. That foundation absolutely helped. I would hope he saw the same thing back with us, as well.
“He has done a lot of good things for us all.”