Vergil Ortiz Jr has been on the sidelines for months now, thanks to a dispute with Golden Boy Promotions that derailed plans for a fight with Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
But promoter Oscar De La Hoya says there is light at the end of the tunnel, and that the two sides have been speaking and working to settle the issues.
“There’s nothing that makes me happier than to see fighters get in the ring and perform. Vergil Ortiz is one of the best fighters out there. I hate not seeing him fight,” De La Hoya said tonight during Golden Boy’s DAZN show.
“Do I want to resolve this? Absolutely, a thousand percent. Did they make a mistake? Did we make a mistake? No. There was a misunderstanding, everything is great. Eric Gomez is talking to Rick Mirigian and we’re making this happen.”
Oscar claims that it will be the “original deal” Golden Boy had with Ortiz, and that he does expect the 154 lb standout to fight this year.
“We have the original deal that was in place. Outside people try to ruffle things up, let’s say, but we have the contracts, we have the relationships, we have Vergil Ortiz. We’ve had him since he was a baby, since he started boxing professionally. We feel that we’re very close and Vergil Ortiz will fight this year.”
We’ll see what comes of this and if, perhaps, Ortiz or his team have a different account of the situation as it stands now. Hopefully everything does come together, though, because everyone wants to see Vergil fight.
Ortiz (24-0, 22 KO) last fought in November 2025, demolishing Erickson Lubin in two rounds, after which we got the face-to-face with Vergil and Boots Ennis, which in the end amounted to nothing for the time being.
