It’s the alternative few want him to take.

However, if the talks for Vergil Ortiz Jnr to fight Jaron “Boots” Ennis are indeed dead and gone, then why wouldn’t Ortiz turn to former undisputed 154lbs champion Jermell Charlo?

Texas’ Charlo, 35, fanned the flames over the weekend, posting on X, “I’ll fix the problem. Send me [the contract], ODH [Ortiz promoter Oscar De La Hoya] or [Ennis promoter] Eddie Hearn.”

The fact that Charlo 35-2-1 (19 KOs), formerly fought under De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions banner and that WBC interim junior-middleweight champion Ortiz 24-0 (22 KOs) also hails from Texas provides more common sense to make that matchup.

De La Hoya told BoxingScene Tuesday he doesn’t expect Ortiz to fight Charlo.

But given the southward turn of Ennis talks, another quality bout is necessary given Ortiz’s three-fight run of meeting then-WBC interim champion Serhii Bohachuk, former WBA champion Israil Madrimov and former 154lbs title challenger Erickson Lubin.

“Vergil fights guys who bring [the best] out of him, always prepared guys,” former welterweight champion Malignaggi said. “It’s a motivation factor. Vergil’s a phenomenal fighter stacking names on his resume.”

The effort to stage Ortiz-Ennis has languished ever since the pair faced off in the Texas ring where Ortiz knocked out Lubin in late November.

Beyond De La Hoya pushing for a potential 65-35 purse split that froze Ennis’ negotiations, Ortiz has now sued De La Hoya for breach of contract and alleges DAZN and Golden Boy Promotions no longer have a working relationship.

“The next move is always the best move,” Charlo wrote on X.

On Tuesday, De La Hoya told BoxingScene, “Vergil is my guy. Absolutely nothing is wrong with Vergil and I. [I’m] figuring out his next fight.”

Asked if Ennis remains in play, De La Hoya said, “He’s always been.”

Instead of Ortiz meeting another veteran former champion from Texas like ex-three-belt welterweight champion Errol Spence Jnr, a shift to Charlo provides intrigue and is a greater legacy play, said ProBoxTV’s “BoxingScene Today” analysts Chris Algieri and Paulie Malignaggi.

“It’s a good move – the legacy of fighting a guy who used to run the division has a lot of cache,” former 140lbs champion Algieri said on Tuesday’s episode. “Spence, at this point, is a guy who’s been out of the ring so long [since July 2023] and his last fight [a knockout by Terence Crawford] was such a dismantling, it loses its appeal in my eyes and also [Ortiz trainer] Robert Garcia’s.”

Charlo hasn’t fought since September 2023, but that was a move up two divisions in weight to lose to Canelo Alvarez in an uninspired showing.

“Yes, he didn’t show up, but it’s not like he got beat up,” Algieri said. “I’ve seen him in the gym. He looks good. Stylistically and the size being different [Charlo is two inches taller than Ortiz with three more inches of reach], I like that fight better. The legacy and the name recognition matter.

“This is not the fight we or [Ortiz] want most, but this will do for now.”

Malignaggi agreed that Charlo will likely produce a game effort considering he formerly knocked out Lubin in the first round and avenged blemishes on his record versus Tony Harrison and Brian Castano.

“Charlo’s problem was a lack of effort versus Canelo – it was a pay day,” Malignaggi said. “Spence took a beating. Charlo didn’t. He didn’t give an effort [against Alvarez]. But the Charlo brothers in their prime were hungry and very good fighters.”

Algieri said the former champion’s age and layoff must be considered.

“What Vergil can do with a guy like that. I want to see the present agaibsrt the past, the Texas [connection] … if Vergil can put that scalp on his record, it’s a big deal,” Algieri said. “It’s a legacy fight, and [given Ennis absence] the best fight.”

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.