Vergil Ortiz Jnr’s manager Rick Mirigian has given an update on what is currently holding up a potential clash with Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
The pair were mentioned as potential opponents even before Ennis’ move up to junior middleweight, but after the former welterweight champion made the jump up to 154lbs, it seemed the fight to make in the division. Ennis impressed with a first-round finish of Uisma Lima in October in his first bout at 154lbs with both Ennis and his promoter Eddie Hearn talking up a fight with Ortiz. Then in November it was Ortiz’s chance to respond to Ennis’ showing, and he did so with a second-round dismantling of Erickson Lubin. Ennis was in attendance for the bout in Fort Worth, Texas, and after the pair squared off in the ring following Ortiz’s win, it seemed inevitable that the pair would lock horns in 2026.
However, there appears to be problems at the negotiating table which is causing a hold up. There were rumours that Ortiz could face former unified welterweight champion Errol Spence Jnr in an all-Texas clash, instead of one with Ennis. Dan Rafael reported, “Per source, DAZN, which has dibs on Ortiz fights, will not allow [Spence] fight to happen. DAZN are exerting intense pressure on Golden Boy [Ortiz’s promoter] to get the Ennis fight done.”
Mirigian spoke to BoxingScene to clear up what is holding up the Ortiz-Ennis negotiations at present.
“Based on public comments by Network executives at DAZN, meeting with our promoter and the tone of it, I think the network is attempting to impose and force both the fighter and promoter to do what they say and that's it,” Mirigian said. “While I think it's foolish to do that and do it in public for a litany of reasons, that's it. It's ok, it's just business, and they have the right to attempt that, as we have the right to do many things contractually also.
“Ortiz has a proper minimum, gets multiple opponents to be offered each fight and we can legally fight where the best opportunity comes from, period, as it should be. Respect and loyalty run both ways, show them and receive them. Saying things publicly like that makes it hard to explain to a fighter who will fight and has fought anyone.”
It seems as though the money placed on the table for Ortiz-Ennis is not what Mirigian was expecting for a fight between the two best fighters in the division. In recent times Saudi financier Turki Alalshikh has been involved in funding these so-called mega fights, but neither Riyadh Season or The Ring have been interested in the bout between Ortiz and Ennis.
“I’m not sure [why] and I'm sure it's complicated,” Mirigian said. “We are grateful to [Turki Alalshikh] for prior opportunities and should they not have interest here, for whatever reason, we look forward to working with them in the future. I can only guess and or speculate as to why, so I won't. I like dealing in facts.”
So is a fight between Ortiz and Ennis reliant on Saudi investment in order to happen?
“No, not at all. My offer back was an easy one, and to sum it up, DAZN can make this fight for about the cost of one single guy that has just fought on their network this past month, and will fight coming up over the next 120 days on their network, and six more set to fight in Jan-April, again for just about literally the cost of a single guy coming up on the cards I mentioned. The entire fight can be made and the network/promoter retains all the upside as well, should it do what they say as they called it with Ring, ‘The biggest fight in the sport to make.’
“I would have thought it could have been done in two minutes after that. They would be getting the deal of deals at that and give the sport, fans, and subscribers what they want. They would be retaining the upside should it do what they think as well. How do you logically argue or beat this? I made this very doable for them. Then they can save the expectations and talk as my guys all know that certain fights will come up and be far more than others. Then they will have to go down some until a super fight or large fight appears again with the public appetite to warrant it. So we are very realistic procedurally.”
Mirigian does not believe that the fee he is asking for is out of the realms of probability for a fight of the calibre of Ortiz-Ennis, and claims that DAZN are paying much more for fights already scheduled for 2026.
“It's literally half the cost of the fights that just took place and the ones set to take place in Jan, Feb, March and April that I know of 100 per cent on the same network,” he said. “With about $12million to $15million a month in subscriptions, the PPV element, and most important the move to charge $480 a year now. This is the kind of fight they must deliver, the fans must get, and we are not playing hard ball, as you can see. We came in to make an easy simple deal.
“Combine all this with the prior info, upside for them, etcetera, and you would think this is a gift from us. We do appreciate them and the support for Ortiz prior, but Ortiz took the fights his opponent would not, multiple times. He is a clean fighter, never failed a drug test, never embarrassed the network, and in an age of track-meet fights that no one wants to see, Ortiz delivers action-packed intelligent fights. He is also positioning himself to be the face of boxing and bring a Canelo-like future to the sport. This is a fighter you take care of; a generational talent.
“So while you dump money into guys that don't have [Ortiz’s] potential or ability to fight and entertain while doing it,” he continued, “you have to think twice why they want to risk a relationship with him and treat him half as good while he is clearly better than the rest, as well as carrying the most important part – the ability to be the face of the sport and anchor to the network. Very strange. But this is boxing and we see things like this fumbled and poorly handled all the time.
“In boxing the only thing you can truly do to show a fighter what his value is to you and what you think of him is to simply write a check. Everything else is smoke and mirrors and fluff to make you or the team feel important. I can say Golden Boy and Oscar [De LaHoya] and Eric [Gomez] have truly showed they cared about Ortiz over the years and I mean that as I would not say it. Right now our promoter has some fighting to do for us all and I'm optimistic they will get there. But the real fight takes place outside the ring well before they walk in it.”
