By Elliot Raines: Promoter Oscar De La Hoya says he “1000%” wants the Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis fight to happen in 2026. But before that can take place, Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) must win his fight against Erickson Lubin this Saturday, November 8th, at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.
(Credit: Golden Boy Promotions / Cris Esqueda)
Verbal Deal With Eddie Hearn
Oscar states that he has a “verbal agreement” with Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) and his promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Boxing. But again, Ortiz Jr. has to win his fight against Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) for the talks to begin.
Vergil Jr., 27, will be defending his WBC interim junior middleweight title against #4 Lubin, 30, on DAZN this Saturday night.
“I welcome Eddie [Hearn]. I welcome Ennis to see the very best 154 and that’s Vergil Ortiz,” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV, reacting to the news of Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and promoter Eddie Hearn planning on being ringside for Vergil Ortiz Jr’s fight against Erickson Lubin this Saturday.
De La Hoya’s comment about Vergil being “the very best 154” is hard to believe. Does Oscar really think that after watching the tough time Ortiz Jr. had in his last two fights against Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk? Even if he does, many fans don’t. They view Ortiz Jr. as below Ennis, and possibly beneath Bakhram Murtazaliev and Sebastian Fundora as well.
“I’m just afraid that if ‘Boots’ sees Vergil Jr. in person, he’s going to shy away from the fight. I want that fight 1000%. First things first. Vergil has to win on Saturday. That’s the bottom line. I’m not going to take Vergil from his tunnel vision and say, ‘Sign this contract. We’re going to fight ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Fans Smell Hesitation
What made De La Hoya’s comments sound fishy is how he repeatedly said today that Ennis and Hearn could change their mind about fighting Vergil Jr. after they see how good he is on Saturday night. They might be scared off. That doesn’t seem realistic. Ennis and Hearn both appear to really want the Ortiz Jr. fight next. They wouldn’t be traveling to Fort Worth to sit at ringside if they didn’t.
Fear of Losing the Investment
The way Oscar spoke, some fans on social media believe he’s cooking up excuses to avoid making the fight between Vergil Jr. and ‘Boots’ to ensure his fighter doesn’t get beaten. That’s perfectly understandable if De La Hoya doesn’t want the fight. Why would he want Ortiz Jr. to get exposed by Ennis, get knocked out potentially, and lose value? All those years of hard work and money De La Hoya put into Ortiz’s career would be down the drain.
“Let him win this fight on Saturday, and then we’ll start negotiations. Is there a verbal agreement? Yeah. Eddie wants it, I want it, Vergil wants it, Boots wants it. We’ll start negotiating right after the victory if he wins,” said De La Hoya.
Elliot Raines has covered British and European boxing since 2010. Known for his sharp pen and low tolerance for hype, Raines dissects the sport’s politics, promoters, and paper champions with dry precision.