Vergil Ortiz Jnr back in business at last after 'sparring session' with Oscar De La Hoya

HOLLYWOOD, California – A year is a terrible thing to waste for a boxer in his prime, something Vergil Ortiz Jnr acknowledged in his public return from the darkness, emerging from his spat with Oscar De La Hoya as a wiser, wittier, bigger version.

During Wednesday’s news conference for his December 5 comeback in Arizona against veteran former welterweight champion and recent 154lbs title challenger Keith Thurman, Ortiz joked that his now-resolved “sparring session” of a contractual squabble with promoter De La Hoya had left him wondering what he might do without boxing.

“Open a coffee shop?” Ortiz asked.

Thankfully, it hasn’t yet come to pumpkin-spice lattes for the 28-year-old WBC interim 154lbs champion, who’ll make his middleweight debut against the 37-year-old Thurman, 31-2 (23 KOs), to launch a campaign for a title shot in that division after being rebuffed by junior middleweight champions Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Sebastian Fundora.

“I’m extremely happy to be back – excited, motivated,” Ortiz told BoxingScene. “It’s been a year and, unfortunately, I’ve been through this before [due to health reasons]. But I know I’ll be all right.”

While Philadelphia’s unbeaten two-division champion Ennis was in Texas last November to call out Ortiz, 24-0 (22 KOs), after his two-round destruction of veteran Erickson Lubin, Ortiz’s financial dispute with De La Hoya stalled talks and allowed Ennis to pursue a two-belt title shot. Ennis won that fight in June by stopping Xander Zayas, then turned his attention to an undisputed championship bid, eyeing fellow champions Josh Kelly and Fundora.

“We came out of the settlement with Golden Boy thinking that we were going to run straight into Jaron Ennis,” Ortiz said. “That didn’t happen – on their side. They took so long [to respond], and ultimately they didn’t want to fight.

“We tried to fight [former 154lbs undisputed champion Jermell] Charlo, were supposed to fight [WBA middleweight champion Erislandy] Lara or Tim Tszyu. Basically no one took the fight except Thurman. Massive respect to him. I’ve always had respect for him, and I’m just happy to get a fight, and get one against someone with the pedigree of him.”

Thurman not done yet – or is he

Thurman was badly marked up and stopped by the 6-foot-6 Fundora in March, but says facing an aggressive fighter just 1½ inches taller this time gives him the chance to lean on his experience and acumen, take Ortiz into the deep waters of the later rounds and produce a stunning outcome.

“I love it, love the competitiveness,” Ortiz said. “I want to prove that I’m the best. If you think you’re the best, then let’s do it. People think it’s a fight. For me, it’s a competition.”

Working with Thurman – promoted by Al Haymon’s Premier Boxing Champions – could ease Ortiz’s push to fight the winner of December’s PBC-promoted WBA middleweight title fight between Lara and Tszyu, or ultimately face PBC’s WBC interim champion Jesus Ramos Jnr.

“It’s a possibility, and it makes it easier that we are under one roof with DAZN,” De La Hoya said.

De La Hoya provided a remarkably frank account of how Ortiz-Thurman came to be the co-main event to David Benavidez’s Phoenix-area homecoming bid to become a three-belt cruiserweight champion against Poland’s Michal Cieslak.

“It’s a very interesting fight. Not my first choice, to be honest with you. Nobody’s first choice, but we got tired of chasing ’Boots’ Ennis,” De La Hoya said. “We had a deal. All of a sudden, ‘Boots’ Ennis is not available. All of a sudden, Fundora’s not available. All the top guys with belts.”

After Ortiz settled with Golden Boy, Fundora instead opted to strike a deal to fight his new WBC mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj, whom he knocked out in the 12th round on October 17 in Las Vegas.

“The fact is that Keith Thurman literally stood up and said, ‘I’ll fight [Ortiz] – I want to fight the best.’ Yes, he’s coming off a devastating loss against Fundora, which everyone will count him out after that loss. Even I did,” De La Hoya said.

“But you think about [Thurman’s] resume [beating Danny Garcia, Shawn Porter], you think about who he fought and how difficult it is to fight a 6-foot-6 guy. You can’t really judge him … that’s a unique fight against a very tall and great fighter … and styles make fights.

“I’m not saying Keith Thurman has a chance at winning. I’m not going to say that. Because he doesn’t. But I’m interested to see Vergil Ortiz and Keith Thurman go at it, because it’s going to be a good fight, and isn’t that what we’re here for? Good fights?”