Team Ortiz Using A-Side Talk To Avoid Ennis Fight

Eddie Hearn says he doubts that Vergil Ortiz Jr’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, and manager, Rick Mirigian, want the fight with Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. He believes that the $10 million demand by Team Ortiz Jr. and the A-side talk suggests that they don’t want the fight with Ennis.

Golden Boy’s Leverage Game

De La Hoya made it known right away last Saturday that if ‘Boots’ Ennis and Matchroom promoter Hearn want the opportunity to make the fight with Ortiz Jr. (24-0, 22 KOs), they’re going to be the B-side of the promotion. He says that Ortiz Jr. has the “upper hand” because he’s the “better fighter.”

WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Jr. destroyed the #4 WBC contender Erickson Lubin (27-3, 19 KOs), scoring a second-round TKO win last Saturday, November 8th, at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Ortiz Jr. never gave Erickson a chance in the fight before obliterating him with a hail of heavy fire.

“There’s nothing but respect from us, but we just know we win,” said Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV about his belief that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is too good for Vergil Ortiz Jr. “Once you start hearing things like, ‘We’re the A-side.’”

“We Tried” — The Easy Excuse

The A-side talk from De La Hoya could be construed as code for, ‘We don’t want the fight.’ So, if they offer Ennis a bad deal that he’ll never accept, they can always throw up their hands and say, ‘We tried.’ Enough fans will believe their explanation for why the fight didn’t get made for them to avoid a backlash and be viewed as ducking.

“Ortiz has never been a world champion. A great fighter. ‘Boots’ has been a world champion. He’s been a unified champion, but neither of them are champions now. They’re just the top two fighters in the division,” said Hearn.

“So, if you truly believe you’re the best, make the fight. And it’ll be really interesting to now see if they [Team Ortiz Jr.], because the fights there, the fights done, the money is there, the PPV is there,” said Hearn. “It’s a massive fight, but you can find an excuse if you don’t want to do it. So, we’ll see. If the fight delivers, the fighters are going to make a load of money. They’re going to make a load of money anyway.”

If Ennis doesn’t get the fight, he needs to set his target toward challenging the winner of the January 31, 2026, unification fight between WBA 154-lb champion Abass Baraou and WBO champion Xander Zayas. Ennis holds the WBA interim title. So, he should be able to force a title shot against the winner of that fight.

Ennis Just Wants the Fight

“When are you going to hear me come out about this fight or ‘Boots’ coming out and saying, ‘We want this, we’re the A-side.’ No, just want the fight. We just need to prove that we’re better than everybody else,” said Hearn.

It sounds like Hearn is frustrated with the resistance he’s facing from Ortiz’s side. He and Ennis may need to agree to whatever demands that Vergil Jr. and his team are asking for if they want to get this fight. It doesn’t appear that they’re as interested in making the bout happen.