De La Hoya Pushes Back on Ortiz Jr. Contract Lawsuit

Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya pushed back forcefully Friday after Vergil Ortiz Jr. filed a breach-of-contract lawsuit seeking to exit his promotional agreement, framing the move as outside interference rather than a fighter-led dispute.

In a video posted to his social media accounts, De La Hoya warned that Golden Boy would respond aggressively to what he described as third parties attempting to undermine an active contract. Ortiz, he said, is not a free agent, and Golden Boy intends to prove it.

The promoter directed particular criticism toward Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, and the attorney who filed the lawsuit in U.S. District Court in Nevada, Gregory Smith, accusing them of disrupting negotiations that were already underway for a high-profile fight with Jaron Ennis.

At the center of the dispute is Ortiz’s promotional and broadcast status. Smith’s lawsuit argues that Golden Boy’s relationship with DAZN expired at the end of 2025, freeing Ortiz to leave the company. Golden Boy maintains that talks have continued to extend that deal and that Ortiz remains under contract.

De La Hoya said Golden Boy sent a formal letter to Mirigian the day before the lawsuit was filed, demanding that he stop interfering with negotiations involving Ennis. Hours later, the lawsuit arrived. De La Hoya contrasted that move with Ortiz’s public comments late last year, when the fighter expressed satisfaction with Golden Boy following his knockout of Erickson Lubin and indicated support for moving forward with Ennis talks.

That bout, streamed on DAZN, was attended ringside by Ennis and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, and ended with a brief in-ring exchange that appeared to signal momentum toward a deal.

De La Hoya also took aim at the choice of legal representation, noting that Smith is the same attorney who previously represented Canelo Alvarez in his successful effort to exit Golden Boy in 2020. Smith, however, has worked with Ortiz since 2024 and was involved in drafting the current agreement, including provisions limiting public statements that could damage Ortiz’s earning potential.

The promoter rejected the suggestion that Saudi funding or outside ventures have limited the upside of an Ortiz-Ennis fight, arguing that major financiers will back the right matchup regardless of promoter alignment. He said Golden Boy was pursuing a favorable split for Ortiz and that the lawsuit reflects a managerial agenda rather than the fighter’s wishes.

De La Hoya closed by casting the filing as an optics-driven move, insisting that Ortiz wants to fight and that the legal action lacks substance. Whether that claim holds up will now be decided in court, not on social media.