Only the faint-hearted don’t want to see Vergil Ortiz Jnr fight Jaron “Boots” Ennis, so when promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned their names Thursday, those in attendance were riveted.
Wouldn’t it be interesting, Hearn said, if trainers Robert Garcia and “Bozy” Ennis cornered Raymond Muratalla and Andy Cruz in Saturday night’s IBF lightweight title fight on DAZN, then returned this year to be in opposite corners for the anticipated Ortiz-”Boots” clash?
In a video interview with Sean Zittel, Garcia and “Bozy” Ennis shook hands and agreed their junior-middleweights will meet sometime in 2026.
The question is, could they still meet as planned in the spring?
“It’s a situation that’s a bit confusing with the legal case,” Hearn said of the lawsuit filed by Ortiz Jnr here in Nevada versus his promoter Oscar De La Hoya alleging breach of contract. “I’m always an optimist. I hope we can get the fight made.”
Hearn discussed his options, noting he represents IBF 154lbs title contender Josh Kelly, an underdog in his January 31 title shot at unbeaten IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev.
Hearn said Kelly has “signed to fight ‘Boots,’ and if he wins that [Murtazaliev] fight, we can make [Kelly-Ennis] straightaway.”
Hearn said if WBO champion Xander Zayas defeats WBA champion Abass Baraou January 31 in Puerto Rico, “Boots” versus Zayas “is a huge fight as well.
“But, for me, [Ortiz and Ennis] are the two top fighters at 154, and I want to find out who’s the best, and I think that’s the best fight in American boxing.”
The unbeatens – Ortiz, 27, is WBC interim 154lbs champion and Ennis, 28, is a recent unified welterweight champion – are in their prime and have each expressed the willingness to fight each other.
The sticking points have been De La Hoya’s push for a purse split that would leave Ennis with 35% in defeat, and the internal legal dispute, with Ortiz manager Rick Mirigian arguing he has the right to negotiate the contract with Hearn.
Asked who he’s negotiating with, Hearn said, “No one. Obviously, it’s a mess. On one hand, you don’t want to upset your relationship with Golden Boy. On the other, you want to make the fight. We’ve just got to get the right advice. I would rather just make the fight with their team, and if their team is Golden Boy and Rick, great.
“Sometimes, when things blow up, the fight gets made. Sometimes, it just completely falls apart. We should find out who we’re dealing with.”
And the fact that Ennis can turn immediately to fight a victorious Kelly for a title could prod the sides to move.
Meanwhile, both Garcia and “Bozy” Ennis downplayed the importance of matching wits in Muratalla-Cruz as Ortiz-Ennis looms – whenever.
“Nah, totally different fighters, totally different fight,” said returning Trainer of the Year Garcia and 2025 finalist in the category, according to the Boxing Writers Association of America.
Yet, Garcia conceded crafting a fight plan to defeat an Olympic gold medalist off to a 6-0 start as a pro could provide “a little advantage in the mind and the heart,” but it’s guys who have nothing else to do with each other.
Muratalla’s Top Rank matchmaker Brad Goodman noted the brawn advantage of his champion who inherited the belt from the retired three-division champion Vasiliy Lomachenko last year, and said only Muratalla, 23-0 (17 KOs), is capable of ending the fight in one punch.
“I don’t think [Cruz] can do that to us. Raymond has the hunger, power and speed to take care of business,” Garcia said. “Prove it in the ring, go out there and do your job.”
Yet, Cruz is the slight favorite thanks to his boxing acumen.
If Cruz can outbox Muratalla, does that give “Bozy” a leg up on the other fight and his odds of supplanting Garcia as 2026 Trainer of the Year?
“There’s no ‘if,’” trainer Ennis said. “But I don’t go by that … two different fighters. What I like about [Cruz] is he listens. I didn’t take anything away from him. I just added on. We’ve got plans if Muratalla comes right at us, or if he tries to box.”
Then, the attention turns to “Boots,” who may appear at Saturday’s fight, “Bozy” said.
“If they sign the contract … ‘Boots’ has already signed the contract. That’s all we’re waiting on. But we’re not going to wait too long, though,” ‘Bozy’ Ennis said. “We’ve got to keep on moving.”
