In late November, Vergil Ortiz Jnr posted a triumphant home-state knockout of veteran former junior middleweight title challenger Erickson Lubin, listened to promoter Oscar De La Hoya emphasize the fighter’s rising stock and said, “You know I have your back.”
Less than a month later, in a meeting between Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, and the president of De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions, Eric Gomez, a cycle of events began turning that brought Ortiz to doubt that the promoter felt the same.
In documents reviewed and information obtained by BoxingScene, the Ortiz-De La Hoya split that has sent their dispute to arbitration and compromised a bout between Ortiz and unbeaten Jaron “Boots” Ennis – which has been called “the best fight that can be made in America” – has been laid bare.
On December 9, while Golden Boy summoned reporters to its downtown Los Angeles offices for an interview session with welterweights Raul Curiel and Alexis Rocha, Mirigian appeared, looking agitated and prepared to argue for Ortiz’s worth in a bout that seemed certain to captivate the US and global boxing audience.
Not only had Texas’ Ortiz, 24-0 (22 KOs), posted successive victories over former WBC interim junior middleweight titleholder Serhii Bohachuk, former WBA 154lbs belt holder Israil Madrimov and Lubin (by second-round stoppage), former unified welterweight champion Ennis, 35-0 (31 KOs), of Philadelphia, had won his junior middleweight debut by first-round knockout and boarded a flight to debate and face-off with Ortiz after the Lubin win.
Ennis, 28, pointed to his watch, illustrating “it’s time” for the showdown, and Ortiz, 27, said he was ready.
In that meeting – according to an individual connected to the talks, who spoke on the condition of anonymity because of the pending legal case – Golden Boy offered Ortiz $3 million for the Ennis bout with a split of revenue triggered by 200,000 DAZN pay-per-view buys and a 50-50 split of all net revenue.
Mirigian asked for a flat $7 million with no splits in play, and was told no, so he turned to the language of Ortiz’s three-year contract with Golden Boy that began in August 2024.
Mirigian pointed out that Golden Boy must present two other opponent options, and the manager produced what he assessed as comparable pay to premier American fighters, including Shakur Stevenson and Teofimo Lopez Jnr ($8 million apiece for their January 31 bout), David Benavidez and even Ortiz’s February 2025 victory over Madrimov, funded by Saudi Arabia and financier Turki Alalshikh.
The requests for other opponents and more money was rejected, according to the official, who said another Golden Boy executive witnessed the exchange, in which Mirigian was told the promoter would be content to let Ortiz sit and absorb the blame for not fighting Ennis.
De La Hoya this week labeled Mirigian “the worst manager in boxing” and a “selfish asshole,” arguing Mirigian wants “triple what we’re contractually obligated to pay Vergil for the ‘Boots’ fight.”
Nothing changed over three more weeks of dialogue, according to the individual, as De La Hoya told BoxingScene he wanted Ennis to take the fight for a 60-40 split, with the loser taking a 5 per cent hit in their percentage.
To the Ortiz camp, Golden Boy has committed a contractual breach by not meeting this prong of the contract:
“The Promoter guarantees the Boxer two bouts per Year; Promoter will offer at least three (3) opponents per bout, at least sixty (60) days before the proposed fight date.”
A second clause was also betrayed, according to Team Ortiz.
In it, Golden Boy is obligated “to work in good faith with all boxing promoters to assure that Boxer maximizes his exposure and revenue opportunities during the Term. Promoter agrees to work in good faith to try and negotiate with the representatives for any and all opponents Boxer wants to fight during the Term and Boxer and his representatives expressly agree to direct any and all inquiries they may receive from potential opponents to Promoter for purposes of negotiating the terms of a potential bout with Boxer.
“In the event Promoter receives an offer to provide Boxer a fight from another promoter or broadcast platform under a provision of services (“POS”) or similar agreement, Promoter must disclose to Boxer the full value of all compensation offered and will provide Boxer with a copy of such POS or similar agreement and have Boxer included as a party to such agreement. In the event that a third party promoter, broadcaster, or financier wants to negotiate a fight involving Boxer; Promoter, Boxer, and his representatives will work in good faith to maximize the opportunity for all parties, including but not limited to, as necessary, by Promoter allowing Boxer’s representatives to directly negotiate the bout with the third party. Unless the parties agree otherwise, Promoter shall receive a POS fee equal to twenty-five percent (25%) of Boxer’s compensation for the bout.”
Team Ortiz assesses that De La Hoya’s “vulgar, disrespectful” words uttered toward Ennis promoter Eddie Hearn, Alalshikh and the new Zuffa Boxing heads Dana White and Nick Khan compromised Ortiz’s earning power and ability to land a lucrative alternative bout.
Mirigian has complained that Hearn has said he previously negotiated an Ennis-Ortiz deal with Golden Boy but that the manager was kept from learning the points, being told only that Ortiz would earn $3 million.
On his own, Mirigian has said he secured two separate offers for Ortiz to fight Ennis, one of which he said would pay the fighter a minimum $16 million.
In her ruling this week that refused to free Ortiz from Golden Boy and sent the matter to arbitration, Nevada District Judge Cristina Silva leaned on another contractual clause over Golden Boy’s expired but still-being-negotiated broadcast deal with DAZN.
The clause says this:
“Promoter’s distribution relationship with DAZN is a material incentive for Boxer to enter into this Agreement. In the event that Promoter’s distribution relationship with DAZN terminates, for any reason, and Promoter does not have an agreement in principle in place for an exclusive distribution relationship with an alternative broadcaster, then Boxer shall have the right to terminate this Agreement. For avoidance of doubt, if Promoter has agreed on all material terms with an alternative broadcaster, but is in the process of negotiating the long form agreement with that broadcaster, Boxer shall not be entitled to terminate this agreement. Boxer’s right to terminate must be exercised by written notice within thirty (30) days following Boxer obtaining knowledge of the triggering event, or will be deemed waived.”
While Team Ortiz believed the spirit of the clause was that if a long-term agreement was not in place for any reason, then Ortiz had the right to terminate at any time, Judge Silva ruled differently.
DAZN will stage a Golden Boy fight in Anaheim, California, March 14, and a DAZN executive has provided a deposition saying the sides may extend and are not contingent on the making of an Ortiz-Ennis bout.
On De La Hoya’s “Clapback Thursday” this week, he celebrated Judge Silva shooting down what he called Ortiz’s “master plan to break his contract.
“Now, because of [Mirigian’s] poor advice, Vergil’s sidelined,” De La Hoya said. “And he’s headed to waste more time and money in arbitration, and that could last years. … Vergil, you’ve received the worst advice of your life. I’ve protected you like family, and you’ve turned your back on me?”
Mirigian told BoxingScene on Saturday that he called and texted De La Hoya after posting that statement, and said he received no response.
Lastly, Mirigian has argued in his own sworn statement that he believes Golden Boy especially undercut Ortiz during his December “Clapack Thursday” appearances on Instagram, slamming Zuffa Boxing and angering Alalshikh, who is backing the promotion with $10 million of annual support plus a payment of $15 million to land welterweight Conor Benn.
Team Ortiz had hoped Alalshikh would provide funds for Ortiz-Ennis, too, but unlike his support of Stevenson-Lopez, requests have been met by silence.
Lance Pugmire is BoxingScene’s senior U.S. writer and an assistant producer for ProBox TV. Pugmire has covered boxing since the early 2000s, first at the Los Angeles Times and then at The Athletic and USA Today. He won the Boxing Writers’ Association of America’s Nat Fleischer Award in 2022 for career excellence.
