Promoter Eddie Hearn reacted with annoyance on Thursday when asked about his thoughts on WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. expressing interest in fighting inactive Errol Spence next, rather than the red-hot Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Hearn says that if Ortiz Jr. (24-0, 22 KOs) truly believes he’s the “best 154-pounder in the world,” he should fight ‘Boots’ Ennis next (35-0, 31 KOs). It doesn’t look like that’s going to happen, though.
Ennis and Hearn showed up for Vergil Jr’s fight against Erickson Lubin last Saturday night, on November 8th, at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. They had hoped to put pressure on Ortiz Jr. and his promoters at Golden Boy to make the fight happen next.
Boots Ennis Left Hanging Again
What Hearn and ‘Boots’ saw was Vergil Jr. obliterating Lubin in two rounds, then saying that he’s interested in fighting the 35-year-old inactive Spence or the 35-year-old Jermell Charlo. Ortiz Jr’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, showed lukewarm interest in making a fight against Ennis next. Oscar said Ortiz Jr. holds the “upper hand” in negotiations with Ennis, which fans saw as duck talk.
“Errol Spence was a great fighter. I get it. You want to fight a fight a guy that has been out of the ring for two years,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV, reacting to Vergil Ortiz Jr. showing interest in fighting Errol Spence next rather than Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Both Jermell and Spence have been out of the ring since 2023. If one of them does get selected for Vergil Jr. next, they’ll have been inactive for almost three years. It doesn’t look for Ennis. Hearn should be thinking of someone else for ‘Boots’ to fight next, rather than hoping that Golden Boy agrees to a fight.
Hearn Pushes for the Real Fight
“You want to fight a guy who has been through a torn retina and the car crash rather than the guy [‘Boots’ Ennis] that is red hot. Everybody basically agrees that these [Ortiz Jr. and Jaron Ennis] are the two top 154-pounders in the world,” Hearn said.
Spence hasn’t fought since losing to Terence Crawford by a ninth-round knockout on July 29, 2023. It would be a bad look for Ortiz Jr. to agree to fight Spence coming off a three-year layoff.
“If you believe you’re the best 154-pounder in the world, let’s find out. So, hopefully everybody is true to their word and we can make it happen,” said Hearn.
For Ortiz Jr. to be showing more interest in fighting Spence or Jermell than Ennis is a red flag that he doesn’t believe he can win. If he did, he’d have already agreed to fight ‘Boots.’
