Vergil Ortiz responds after Boots Ennis says team avoided fight

A public exchange between Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. on Thursday showed how far apart the two sides still are on a fight that fans have wanted for months.

Ennis took to X to say he did everything he could to make the welterweight clash happen and suggested Ortiz’s side never truly wanted the bout.

“I did everything in my power to make this fight happen for the fans,” Ennis wrote. “I waited long enough and stayed quiet through it all. It looks like Vergil or his team really didn’t want to fight.”

The IBF welterweight champion also pointed to a moment last November when he traveled to Ortiz’s hometown and attended one of his fights. Ennis said he spoke to him directly that night and made it clear he wanted him next.

“I came to his fight in his hometown and told him he was next,” Ennis wrote.

Ortiz replied roughly an hour later, pushing back on the suggestion that his side avoided the fight. The unbeaten Texan said the negotiations were affected by legal complications that made the situation far more complicated than Ennis described.

“Since nobody is smart enough to know how to read between the lines and see we actually tried to make the fight happen despite all the ongoing legal issues, I’ll spell it out for you and everybody else,” Ortiz posted.

Ortiz did not go into detail about those legal problems in his message. The situation appears tied to the kind of promotional and broadcast disputes that have complicated several major fights in recent years.

The back-and-forth illustrates the continuing disagreement between the two camps. Fans have pushed for the Ennis–Ortiz bout as one of the most attractive fights at welterweight, but at this stage the discussion is still taking place online rather than in the ring.