In this week’s mailbag, we tackle your thoughts on the potential (and hopefully actual) fight between Vergil Ortiz Jnr and Jaron “Boots” Ennis; cover another junior middleweight in titleholder Xander Zayas and his upcoming unification bout; and whether Moses Itauma will face any actual resistance from Jermaine Franklin.

Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.

ARE BOOTS AND ORTIZ REALLY ABOUT TO AVOID EACH OTHER?

So after spending months talking up this faux-super fight, they’re now playing the “we don't need this” game. This is what has infuriated fans for years. No schedule, every fight being a tedious, public negotiation. Vergil Ortiz vs. Errol Spence and Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs. Danny Garcia? LOL, yeah, sounds about right. 

-Coverdale

Lance Pugmire’s response: Among all the things said by the Ortiz camp, this message from a fan is the one that should resonate – and if the sides can’t understand the importance of making their own domestic version of the ready-to-make bouts that the Saudis are constructing, they have no one to blame but themselves for their perilous position. 

To even whisper Errol Spence Jnr, who was beaten to smithereens by Terence Crawford more than two years ago, is a disservice and slap in the face of fans who’ve supported the careers of Ortiz and Ennis. Same thing for the other “local legend” meeting that has been broached by Philadelphia’s Ennis’ side with Garcia, who was recently defeated by 40-plus Erislandy Lara. 

Spare us. Make the fight that is ripe to be made now. Anything else, and you’ve not only failed the sport; you’ve failed yourself.

XANDER ZAYAS TAKING EASIEST ROUTE TO UNIFICATION

Xander Zayas vs. Abass Baraou is basically the only winnable fight in the division for Zayas and his ONLY shot at becoming a unified world champion. No way he beats Bakhram Murtazaliev, Sebastian Fundora or Jaron “Boots” Ennis.

-HisExcellency

Jake Donovan’s response: Everyone is entitled to their opinion. That said, it’s worth noting that Xander Zayas immediately accepted an offer to fight Vergil Ortiz earlier this year (not his fault that Riyadh Season chose another opponent) and also pushed for his mandatory to be enforced against Sebastian Fundora (again, not his fault that Fundora opted to vacate WBO title). 

Now at 23, he was the one who pushed Top Rank to secure a title unification for his first defense and at home, even rejecting a “safer” option. Whether or not he beats any of his top peers in the division remains to be seen (if those fights happen). But he deserves credit for being the one to stand 10 toes down when it comes time to actually pursue these fights.

DON’T BE MISLED BY VERGIL ORTIZ BEATING ERICKSON LUBIN

Let’s cut to the chase. Erickson Lubin is a ruined fighter at this point of his career. He needs to retire as soon as possible. In addition to being chinny, his legs, stamina, accuracy and power are all gone now. Which was the reason why Team Ortiz took this fight. He was never a serious threat to Vergil in the first place.

-champion4ever

Owen Lewis’ response: I’m not sure the fight lasted long enough to say much about Lubin’s power, accuracy or stamina – he fought tentatively in Round 1, and we didn’t see him do much besides land a few touch shots in Round 2 before Ortiz knocked him out. 

On the chin, though, we’re in agreement. Some chinny fighters get hurt with the first clean punch an opponent lands on them, but after Ortiz slammed a power right hand home on the ropes, Lubin was out. It was alarming to watch the instant give in his body, the speed with which his senses left him. 

Ortiz is a spectacular puncher and an all-around better fighter than most everybody Lubin could face, so presumably Lubin could still have some success against significantly lower-quality opponents. But I don’t particularly want to see him in with anybody after watching that knockout. 

And though this doesn’t pertain directly to your note, I’d say the same about Errol Spence, whom Ortiz admitted post-fight is his preferred next opponent. Silly things are said in the woozy aftermath of battle, so I’ll give Ortiz a pass for saying he would rather fight the long-inactive, shopworn Spence than his fresh, strong peer in Jaron “Boots” Ennis. 

Perhaps Spence at his peak would have made for a fun clash with Ortiz – immovable object vs. immovable object – but with Spence having racked up nearly two and a half years out of the ring and 185 punches from Terence Crawford’s sublime fists, I have absolutely no interest in seeing it. Without a tune-up, it would be near-suicide for Spence, and it might still be near-suicide even with a tune-up. In a perfect world, both Lubin and Spence would never box again. In this one, they’ll probably fight on.

ITAUMA’S NEXT FOE IS A GOOD PICK / NO HE IS NOT

Jermaine Franklin is actually the right fight for Moses Itauma. Franklin can give this kid some rounds. 

-JakeTheBoxer 

Franklin is no longer a good gatekeeper type. He is a morbidly obese pig who has zero speed, movement, workrate or power. The whole selling point will be claiming he has never been stopped. Itauma will blast him clean out; he has absolutely nothing to keep Itauma honest.  

-dan_cov

David Greisman’s response: Whenever fighters are so hyped, we want to see if they can actually live up to the lofty expectations. Itauma is certainly getting all sorts of buzz given what he’s shown so far, though with the caveat of who he’s shown it against. 

He was ranked No. 2 by the WBA even before he took out Dillian Whyte in two minutes and moved up to No. 1 after (admittedly behind secondary and tertiary titleholders Kubrat Pulev and Fabio Wardley). That is Itauma’s sole win of note to date. 

So yes, it would be ideal to see Itauma step up against some of his fellow prospects and contenders. But I can also understand what Queensberry Promotions may be aiming to do. They want to build the next heavyweight champion AND the next British boxing superstar.

Anthony Joshua’s best days are behind him. Daniel Dubois’ moment in the sun lasted briefly until his rematch loss to Oleksandr Usyk. By putting Itauma in fights that he can win in highlight-reel fashion, they can build more buzz while also doing the real work in the gym of improving and preparing for the true challenges of the future.

But boxing fans are only so patient. Jermaine Franklin isn’t even rated by any of the sanctioning bodies, not that a bout with, say, WBA ninth-ranked Kem Ljungquist would be more appetizing. If this is how Itauma is starting his 2026, then hopefully he remains busy and starts proving that he isn’t just potentially the future of the heavyweight division, but unquestionably the heir apparent.

BOOTS ENNIS WILL NEED BETTER DEFENSE AGAINST ORTIZ

Vergil Ortiz and Jaron Ennis both have amazing skills, just different styles. I would say Ortiz showed far better defense. His thing is the high guard; he uses head movement sometimes, bounces out just a bit to counter, and even sometimes he uses the Philly Shell for a brief moment. Ortiz is a high-level fighter with amazing boxing skills, and powerwise probably at least on the same level as Boots. 

If Boots just didn't respect his former opponents – and that’s why his defense was that trash – then we have a 50/50 fight. But if Boots really has that bad of a defense like he displayed in every fight I watched from him, he will not win that fight and most likely will get stopped.  

-Moz_boxing

Lucas Ketelle’s response: You hit it on the head when you said they have different styles. That is 100% correct. The most interesting thing about the bout to me is that they are spiritual opposites in a lot of ways. The way they fight, Ennis is flashy, Ortiz is rugged. That could also carry to their demeanor outside of the ring, as Ennis seems to be inspired by designer fashion, whereas Ortiz is more pragmatic in his fashion selection. They are the two best fighters in the division based on the eye test.

Fights this close come down to small things. Sometimes it is a technical thing, but often with two elite fighters, it is things like the preparation, the weight cut, and how they handle the stage that play as big a factor. 

Both Ortiz and Ennis have performances you can be critical of, and in the lead-up, people will examine those fights. The fight is so good, I am not sure anyone (even the fighters who are supremely confident in their abilities) knows what will happen. It is a battle of honor to be one of the best of the modern era. 

When you get those types of fights, either guy can win. I understand your belief that Ennis could get stopped, and that is the outcome that could happen, but Ennis is one of these elite, special fighters who would not be easy to do that to. This is the type of fight in which both fighters would leave a piece of themselves in the ring afterward. 

Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.