Vergil Ortiz Jr. confessed today that he “stopped caring” about what posters on social media said to him due to their negative comments that he reads. One of them posted today that they hope he dies in his fight against Erickson Lubin this Saturday, November 8th.
Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) is defending his WBC interim junior middleweight title against #4 Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) in a 12-round headliner on Amazon Prime Video PPV at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
Toxic Messages Before Fight Week
“Die b***ch. You’re getting KO. I hope you end up in the hospital,” said one of the posters to Vergil Ortiz Jr. on social media.
Vergil Jr. has gotten on the wrong side of some fans, who accuse him of ducking Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. They feel that he’s lost his nerve after seeing how good Ennis looked in his debut at 154 against Uisma Lima on October 11, 2025.
This is why at the end of the day I will always do what’s best for me! I stopped caring about what yall said and what yall think about me a long time ago. The only thing that truly kills the love for the sport for me is the fans. Not all the fans, but the fans nonetheless. pic.twitter.com/htrkSO0Tck
— Vergil Ortiz Jr. (@VergilOrtiz) November 2, 2025
‘Boots’ knocked out Lima in lightning fashion, destroying him in the first round of a statement win. Since that fight, many fans believe Vergil Jr. has gone quiet about wanting to fight him. It was a pretty scary win by Ennis.
Truth Layer: The Sport Eats Its Own
It’s the type of victory that would make any fighter have second thoughts about fighting him, because losing in that kind of fashion would turn off the money flow they’ve been enjoying from the spigot. Coming back from a first-round knockout loss to Ennis would be difficult, if not impossible.
It’s like the famous old Spindletop oil well in Beaumont, Texas, going dry for a fighter if they were blown out by ‘Boots’ in the first round. One second, the money is pouring in by the bucketful, and the next second it’s a dry duster.
Getting destroyed by Ennis would ruin Vergil Jr’s brand. A person can understand why fighting Ennis wouldn’t be a good idea. Fans don’t like it when a fighter chooses to play it safe. They lash out with hateful messages.
Vergil Jr. has numerous excellent opportunities to earn millions in winnable fights. He doesn’t need Ennis. So, it’s understandable why he and Golden Boy might want to look in the opposite direction toward these fighters:
- Sebastian Fundora
- Xander Zayas
- Bakhram Murtazaliev
- Abass Baraou
- Keith Thurman