Vergil Ortiz Jr. Is Boxing’s “Golden Ticket”

By Elliot Raines: Promoter Oscar De La Hoya says his fighter, Vergil Ortiz Jr., is the “golden ticket” for all other boxers from 147 to 154 to fight for them to be part of a “mega-fight” in front of a full Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.

(Credit: Golden Boy Promotions / Cris Esqueda)

Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) is facing a major test against Erickson Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) this Saturday, November 8th, that will affect whether he becomes the star that De La Hoya predicts.

Cowboys Stadium Dream

Vergil Jr. is still largely unproven at 27, and he’s not exactly looked like gold in his last two fights at 154 since being matched against the solid B-level fighters, Israil Madrimov and Serhii Bohachuk. Lubin, another B-level fighter, could prove to be too much for Ortiz Jr., which would foil Oscar’s vision.

If WBC interim junior middleweight champion Ortiz Jr. loses this fight, it would put De La Hoya in a tough spot of having to explain what happened and confront the truth about his fighter. He’s not as good as he thinks he is.

“Ennis is going to tell Eddie, ‘I don’t want Vergil next. Give me another tune-up fight.’ Vergil Ortiz right now is so hungry to win a world title,” said De La Hoya to the media on Thursday, talking about Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and his promoter, Eddie Hearn. They plan on being ringside for Ortiz Jr’s fight against Lubin.

The vision thing that De La Hoya dreamed up won’t materialize if he chooses not to match Ortiz Jr. against Ennis next. A fight against WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora won’t be big enough to fill the Cowboys Stadium or bring in a massive number of PPV buys on DAZN.

Vergil Jr. needs ‘Boots’ Ennis for that because he’s arguably the most popular fighter now that Terence Crawford has abandoned the 154-lb division, moving up to 168.

“Him winning on Saturday night and him fighting ‘Boots.’ He has another thing comin’ because Vergil is coming with everything,” said De La Hoya.

Golden Ticket Vision

“Vergil Ortiz, whatever weight class he’s in, everyone follows because everyone knows that wherever he’s at, that he’s the golden ticket. He’s the only one who knows that he’s going to be able to fill up the Cowboys Stadium,” said De La Hoya.

Ortiz Jr. needs to look great against Erickson on Saturday and not struggle the way he did against Madrimov and Bohachuk. He didn’t look like anyone’s ‘golden ticket” in those fighters. But even if he’s outstanding, he’ll need one of these fighters to sell out Cowboys Stadium:

• Jaron Ennis
• Ryan Garcia
• Devin Haney

None of the other 154-lb fighters besides Ennis can bring in the numbers. The 160-lb division is devoid of names. Ortiz’s bet is Ennis, and the 147-pounders Ryan and Haney.

“Just like he told Jerry Jones when he was a kid coming up, ‘I’m going to fill that stadium for you,’ and I believe it now. But he’s the only one who can do it. Without Vergil Ortiz, no one can do it now. If we make Vergil against anyone in his next fight, it’s going to be a mega-event

Elliot Raines has covered British and European boxing since 2010. Known for his sharp pen and low tolerance for hype, Raines dissects the sport’s politics, promoters, and paper champions with dry precision.