A long-discussed clash between Vergil Ortiz and Jaron “Boots” Ennis appears to be nearing the finish line, with advanced talks underway for a 154-pound showdown targeted for April in Las Vegas. After months of public back-and-forth, stalled negotiations, and an internal lawsuit, sources from both sides describe the deal as “getting close,” with confidence growing that an agreement will be reached despite a slight delay from the originally planned March 28 date.
The matchup has been realistic since Ennis, 35-0 (31 KOs), moved up from welterweight, where he previously held the lineal, Ring, and unified IBF/WBA titles. He made an emphatic junior middleweight debut on October 11, stopping Uisma Lima in the first round in Philadelphia to claim the WBA interim belt. Ortiz, unbeaten and fighting out of Texas, followed with a second-round knockout of Erickson Lubin on November 8 in Fort Worth to retain his WBC interim 154-pound title.
Ennis was ringside that night and made his intentions unmistakably clear. “I’m letting everybody know – this is the fight I want next,” Ennis said afterward, adding that the bout had only grown in hype and momentum. His appearance in the ring alongside Ortiz underscored just how far discussions had progressed at that point.
Negotiations later hit turbulence when Golden Boy Promotions and Ortiz’s management insisted Ortiz was the A-side and suggested alternative options. Those claims lost traction when it emerged that DAZN was not interested in funding any bout for either fighter other than Ortiz-Ennis, a standoff that coincided with Golden Boy’s expiring deal with the streaming service. Matters escalated further when Ortiz filed a lawsuit against Golden Boy, alleging breach of contract and interference while seeking to void his promotional agreement.
Despite the complications, both camps have continued to signal optimism, with Ortiz’s manager Rick Mirigian hinting publicly that good news was imminent.
Image Credit: DAZN