Robert Garcia wants Vergil Ortiz Jr. back in the ring, even if that means accepting an opponent who does little to satisfy fans waiting for the Jaron Ennis fight.
Keith Thurman is the likely opponent for Ortiz’s proposed December 5 return on the David Benavidez card. Talks appear promising, though the fight has yet to be finalized. Ortiz is scheduled to begin training camp next week.
“I don’t care whatever people say. I just need Vergil back in,” Garcia said. “He’s been out for a year. … It’s going to be 13 months basically. So, that’s too much.”
That explains the willingness to take Thurman. Garcia’s priority is getting Ortiz through a training camp and into a fight. Looking for someone who offers more prestige could bring another delay, leaving Vergil inactive into next year.
Thurman would give Ortiz a recognizable opponent, but beating him would leave the bigger questions unanswered. Fans want to see Vergil against the strongest fighters around his weight. A return bout can restore activity without delivering that test.
Garcia accepts the criticism. He believes the cost of waiting has become greater than the benefit of holding out for a better opponent.
“If we try to switch up, find somebody else or maybe a bigger fight, a fight that means a little bit more, then it might take longer,” he said.
The same frustration is behind the team’s decision to campaign at 160 pounds. Garcia expects Ennis to pursue Josh Kelly and then potentially Sebastian Fundora, a sequence he believes could leave Ortiz waiting another year.
He understands Ennis’s interest in unification, while maintaining that Vergil would present a harder fight. Ortiz’s team is choosing to move forward rather than keep cutting to 154 for an opportunity Garcia cannot count on.
Getting Ortiz active is a reasonable immediate goal. After that, the urgency needs to extend to finding stronger opposition. Thurman can end the layoff; he cannot replace the fights that made fans eager to see Vergil return.
