Vergil Ortiz Jr.: “The Goal Isn’t to Be a Superstar”

Vergil Ortiz Jr. is currently the owner of an interim WBC belt at 154 pounds. Recent rumors suggest he is finally moving toward a showdown with Jaron “Boots” Ennis, the fellow interim titleholder under the WBA banner. This fight represents a rare moment where the promotional guardrails might actually be lowered to allow two of the most avoided names in the division to settle their standing.

The Illusion of the Alphabet Titles

The junior middleweight division is currently a collection of placeholders. While Sebastian Fundora holds the full WBC hardware, Ortiz has been forced to defend his interim status against Israil Madrimov and Erickson Lubin just to maintain his place in the queue. His second-round destruction of Lubin in November was a clinical display of trapping a southpaw on the ropes and ending the night with a series of concussive combinations. It was efficient.

Jaron Ennis enters this conversation after a similarly one-sided beatdown of Uisma Lima in October. Ennis is a fighter who has spent years being called the future of the sport without ever having a signature win over an elite contemporary in their prime. His move to 154 pounds was a necessity. He had outgrown the welterweight division and exhausted the patience of fans waiting for him to fight someone with a pulse.

“The goal isn’t to be a superstar, the goal is to fight the very best, and to prove to myself that I am the best. I don’t care about being a superstar or about having one billion followers on Instagram.” Ortiz told Boxing Scene

This rhetoric is common for fighters trying to distance themselves from the business side of the sport. By claiming he only wants the belt on his wall, Ortiz is positioning himself as a purist. It is a smart strategic move. It shields him from the criticism that his career has been managed with excessive caution due to his previous health scares.

Network Pressure

The reality of this fight depends more on DAZN than on the desires of the fighters. The streaming platform is reportedly applying intense pressure on Golden Boy Promotions to finalize the Ennis fight rather than chasing an all-Texas battle with a fading Errol Spence Jr. This is a rare instance where the broadcaster is acting in the interest of the viewer.

Promotional politics between Eddie Hearn and Rick Mirigian have slowed the process. They are haggling over percentages while the division moves on. If this fight does not happen in the first half of 2026, both men risk becoming permanent fixtures of the undercard circuit. They are too dangerous for the champions to fight voluntarily and too expensive for the promoters to keep in “stay-busy” fights.

Technically, the matchup is a nightmare for both. Ortiz relies on a high-volume, punishing style that breaks opponents down through attrition. His punch output remains some of the highest in the sport. Ennis, however, is a switch-hitting stylist with exceptional reflexes and a variety of angles that Ortiz has not yet encountered.

The technical forecast suggests a dangerous start for Ortiz. If he cannot get inside the reach of Ennis early, he will be picked apart by a fighter who excels at counter-punching in transition. However, the questions about the chin of Ennis at 154 pounds remain unanswered. Ortiz has the power to end the night with a single mistake. Expect a cautious opening four rounds followed by a grueling battle where the winner is the one whose conditioning holds up under the weight of the new division.