BANGKOK, Thailand – It just so happened that Vergil Ortiz Jnr and BoxingScene had scheduled a Zoom call on Wednesday, hours before his promoter announced talks for a first-quarter showdown with fellow unbeaten junior middleweight Jaron “Boots” Ennis could be finalized next week.
There are so many other days between bouts when boxers like Texas’ unbeaten Ortiz, 24-0 (22KOs), are out of the news and out of sight from their fans.
Ortiz, 27, is doing something about that slight by striking a union with the social-media app OnlyFans, providing him with the opportunity to interact with his supporters, provide glimpses of his training and personal life, and elaborate on any news regarding his rising career.
Signing in every day and contributing a likely minimum of two posts a week, Ortiz said he decided to participate in the production of content because “you keep the fire in the fans’ hearts alive – being acknowledged, keeping them interested, that means everything”.
He expects to provide live footage of workouts, sparring, dieting and eating habits and boxing pointers, all while conversing with his audience.
“We can use OnlyFans to spread facts,” Ortiz said.
He provided a glimpse of that while responding to the breaking elements that came on Tuesday, when he engaged with recent unified welterweight champion Ennis on “X” and waited to hear the news from the WBC Convention mandatories meeting in Bangkok.
Ortiz made it clear before learning of the positive update on negotiations by his Golden Boy Promotions president Eric Gomez that he at least deserved to be elevated into mandatory position on the heels of his November 15 second-round knockout of former 154lbs title challenger and top-five contender Erickson Lubin in Fort Worth, Texas.
“I’ve defended the interim belt two times already,” Ortiz told BoxingScene.
WBC 154lbs champion Fundora, 23-1-1 (15KOs), is expected to return to the ring in February for a title defense versus former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman after their bout was postponed from October by a hand injury Fundora suffered.
Gomez told WBC president Mauricio Sulaiman that Ortiz plans to successfully defend his interim belt against Ennis and then fight Fundora, expecting the 6-feet-7 champion to prevail against Thurman.
“I would love that fight,” Ortiz said. “I respect Fundora a lot. He’s done some good things at 154, and I would love an opportunity to share the ring with him. The fans would love it. I would love it, for sure, to get a crack to fight for the WBC belt. You know why I’m here – I’m here to prove I’m the best.”
While Fundora will be busy through the first quarter of 2026, Ortiz turns to the glamour showdown against the unbeaten Ennis, 35-0 (31KOs), the Philadelphia product who recently moved up to 154lbs. Ennis appeared in the ring with Ortiz after the Lubin knockout, expressing praise for the performance and pointing to his watch to illustrate it’s time for them to square off.
Before Gomez made public that the Ennis talks were making strides, Ortiz pressured Ennis to push for the bout.
“A little back and forth to ensure the fire stays on it,” Ortiz told BoxingScene of the social-media blasts to Ennis. “I’m very excited about where my career stands. It definitely depends on his side, more than anything.
Ortiz said dominating Lubin has further lifted his confidence about what he can accomplish.
“I was very happy [in crushing Lubin],” he said. “No wear and tear on my body at all. We came out unscathed. That’s really all you can ask for. I feel at the top of my prime right now, and only climbing it.”
Whatever transpires, he has his own vehicle to provide dispatches on what is happening by leaning on his OnlyFans’ base.
The site already provides content from a wide range of athletes in boxing, soccer, motorsports, golf and more, with the company striving to offer “exclusive behind-the-scenes training, competition and fitness content to elevate their profiles and promote their sports, while showing the work, grit and determination it takes to get to the top”.
Ortiz promises to play electric guitar on some of his appearances, telling BoxingScene he aspires to one day play in a band “in some small bars” someday.
He said the access will go beyond Instagram thanks to the interaction.
Asked which fighter he would’ve registered to follow, he chose the late, great Mexican champion Salvador Sanchez.
“I don’t think I can emulate him,” Ortiz said. “He had good head movement. He had hands like rocks, the way they were thudding when he hit guys.”
Something like what Ortiz did in knocking out Lubin as the battered veteran stood against the ropes in November.
