Robert Garcia believes Jaron Ennis should prioritize a fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr. before continuing his pursuit of undisputed status at 154 pounds.
Ennis is coming off a seventh-round stoppage of Xander Zayas to become unified champion and is expected to pursue IBF titleholder Josh Kelly next.
“If you beat Vergil, then go after the unifications and undisputed,” Garcia said. “But in the meantime, show the world that you're better than Vergil.”
Garcia also questioned whether Kelly should return as early as November after suffering a suspected broken nose and cuts during his recent unanimous decision victory over Caoimhin Agyarko.
Ortiz, meanwhile, has resolved his contractual issues with Golden Boy Promotions and is targeting a November return. A fight with Ennis had previously been discussed before those promotional problems prevented it from moving forward.
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