Trainer Robert Garcia is taking criticism from fans today in the aftermath of his fighter Vergil Ortiz’s second-round technical knockout win over Erickson Lubin last Saturday night, talking about wanting him to fight other fighters rather than Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis next.
Fans See Fear
Garcia named four options that Vergil Jr. (24-0, 22 KOs) could face next, besides a match against Ennis. Fans read this as a sign that Robert doesn’t want Vergil to get beaten like some of his other fighters.
Ortiz Jr., suffering a quick knockout loss to ‘Boots’ Ennis, like his recent opponents, Uisma Lima and Eimantas Stanionis, would wreck Robert Garcia’s vision of him becoming the next Mexican PPV star. So, in that light, it’s understandable why Robert wouldn’t want Vergil Jr. to face Ennis.
Ennis Ends Stardom Dreams
“I think this is the perfect moment for Vergil to become the pay-per-view star, the one everyone wants to challenge because it’s the biggest fight for them,” said trainer Robert Garcia to Fighthype about his belief that Vergil Ortiz Jr. is now on the cusp of stardom following his second-round knockout win over Erickson Lubin last Saturday night.
A quick KO loss against Ennis would be disastrous for Ortiz Jr’s career. He looked very slow and blocky last night against Lubin, similar to ‘Boots’ Ennis’ previous two opponents, Lima and Stanionis. Those two are a little faster than Ortiz Jr, but neither of them was even slightly competitive against ‘Boots.’
“We’ve got options. If it’s ‘Boots,’ beautiful, because that’s a huge fight. But so is Spence, so is Charlo, so is Fundora, and so is Xander Zayas. They’re all huge fights. That makes the Mexican American become a superstar,” said trainer Garcia about who Ortiz Jr. could fight next.
Protecting the Golden Ticket
Robert’s wishlist for Vergil Jr – (excluding Boots)
- Xander Zayas
- Jermell Charlo – inactive for 2 years
- Errol Spence Jr – ditto
- Sebastian Fundora
“It would hurt me to see Vergil knock him out. And I know Vergil is going to do his work,” said Robert about a fight between Ortiz Jr. and Errol Spence.
The way that Vergil Jr. spoke glowingly about his interest in fighting Spence next last night, it’s possible that he could be the guy that promoter Oscar De la Hoya targets for his next fight. Oscar will, of course, make an effort to put together a fight between Vergil Jr. and Ennis.
With the way he’s talking about being the “upper hand” in the negotiations with ‘Boots’ and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, it might take a miracle for the fight to happen. There are too many well-paying options for Ortiz Jr that may be too tempting to pass up.
