“He Just Sat on the Ropes Taking Punishment”: Eddie Hearn Questions Lubin’s Strange Behavior in Ortiz Jr. TKO, Says Ennis Fight Is the Real Test

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, says he didn’t know what Erickson Lubin was doing when he chose to sit on the ropes for a full minute of round two, absorbing punishment in the second round in his TKO loss to WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. last Saturday night in Fort Worth, Texas.

Lubin’s One-Minute Breakdown

Hearn isn’t discrediting Ortiz Jr. (24-0, 22 KOs) after his impressive knockout victory against Lubin (27-3, 19 KOs). He thought it was a little peculiar that Erickson, 30, chose to sit on the ropes for so long, letting Ortiz Jr. pound away at him.

Matchroom promoter Hearn is hoping to negotiate a fight between Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) and Vergil Jr. next. It’s far from a sure thing that a fight will happen between them right away, as Ortiz Jr. and his trainer, Robert Garcia, mentioned being interested in fighting Errol Spence, Jermell Charlo, Terence Crawford, Xander Zayas, and Sebastian Fundora next.

“I don’t know what he was doing in the second round. He just sat on the ropes for just a minute, taking punishment. But it was a good win. Anytime you beat a top 15 guy in that fashion, it’s a great win,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to ESNEWS, giving his thoughts on Erickson Lubin’s performance in his loss to Vergil Ortiz Jr. last Saturday night.

Golden Boy’s Perfect Pick

It was brilliant matchmaking by Golden Boy, selecting Lubin, who had fallen apart in the two times he’d stepped it up against high-level opposition during his 12-year career in stoppage losses to Jermell Charlo and Sebastian Fundora. Lubin hasn’t fought an A-level opponent since his ninth-round stoppage loss to Fundora on April 9, 2022.

“We rate him [Vergil Jr.], and that’s why we want to fight him. We think we’ve got the best [Jaron Ennis]. They think they’ve got the best. Boots is 28 and Vergil is 27. It’s a no-brainer. Same platform. Same broadcaster. Let’s just make it happen. I think it’s a Las Vegas fight,” said Hearn.

Money Will Decide Everything

It’ll come down to the money that is being offered for the fight. Golden Boy will obviously take the fight if Vergil Jr. is offered enough money. If Turki Alalshikh gets involved, it’s a fight that can happen. He’s got the money to make an offer that Ortiz Jr. and Ennis won’t refuse.