Vergil Ortiz Jr. could face Keith Thurman on the December 12 David Benavidez card, with Oscar De La Hoya working on a fight to keep him busy while a meeting with Jaron Ennis remains out of reach. Thurman is the proposed opponent, but the deal isn’t finished.
“That’s the talk, to fight him on the Benavidez card, which would be awesome. Imagine Benavidez and Vergil Ortiz. … We’re working out things with Keith Thurman,” De La Hoya told Fight Hub TV.
“It’s not the opponent yet because things are being worked out.”
Asked about Ennis, Oscar made it clear that Thurman wasn’t his first choice.
“I wish it would have been the Boots fight, but look, we can’t keep our fighter idle for so long.”
De La Hoya pointed to Ennis pursuing a fight with Josh Kelly and Sebastian Fundora having another opponent. His argument is straightforward: Vergil needs a fight, and Thurman is someone Golden Boy believes can get into the ring with him.
That makes sense as a way to keep Vergil busy. Thurman has a recognizable name, and putting them on Benavidez’s card would give the event another fight to help sell it. Golden Boy would have something to promote instead of leaving Vergil waiting for an opponent who has other plans.
But keeping Vergil active and moving him toward the best at 154 aren’t necessarily the same thing. Thurman would give him a name for his record, while the Ennis fight would answer much more about how good Vergil is against another leading fighter in the division.
Oscar repeatedly talked about getting Vergil’s career “back on track.” A December appearance would help with that, but Golden Boy still needs to turn activity into a route toward the bigger fights. Thurman could be a useful stop along the way. He shouldn’t become a substitute for the opponents Vergil needs to face.
