Vergil Ortiz Jnr and Golden Boy Promotions are scheduled to begin their mediation process in Las Vegas on July 14, with the unbeaten junior-middleweight seeking to extricate himself from a once-tight connection with Oscar De La Hoya.
Amid opposing lawsuits – with Texas’ Ortiz 24-0 (22 KOs) claiming his earning-power for an anticipated showdown with Jaron “Boots” Ennis was diminished while Golden Boy argues Ortiz manager Rick Mirigian sought to move the fighter toward another promoter – the matter is on track for a resolution by September.
Nevada District Judge Cristina D. Silva last month sent the case to arbitration and issued an injunction forbidding WBC interim champion Ortiz, 27, from dealing with third parties until a resolution was struck.
According to documents revealed in Ortiz’s lawsuit, he could have earned a minimum $16 million to fight Philadelphia’s former unified welterweight champion Ennis 35-0 (31 KOs) while Golden Boy offered him $3 million.
Ennis personally attended Ortiz’s second-round knockout of Erickson Lubin in Fort Worth, Texas, in November, and the pair – who both fight on DAZN – were in talks to fight later this spring.
Those talks crumbled as the Ortiz-Golden Boy relationship deteriorated, and Ennis has since moved on to accept a WBO/WBA unified 154lbs title shot at unbeaten champion Xander Zayas June 27 at Barclays Center in New York.
The arbitration hearing is expected to be a three-day affair, with each side allowed to submit written closing statements by early August.
The arbitrator will then consider the arguments and issue a ruling to Judge Silva by early September, when she would likely confirm the ruling. Silva had requested the sides to conclude the process by September.
