Promoter Eddie Hearn is optimistic that he’ll be able to deliver the Vergil Ortiz Jr. fight to Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis for January or February 2026. Hearn says he signed Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) to a “multi-year” deal, and he’s already signed for the Ortiz Jr. fight.
Hearn Secures Ennis for Deal
Eddie doesn’t say what other options he has for Jaron, 28, if he can’t get Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) to agree to the offer. Fans want to see Ennis step it up because they feel that his entire career has been nothing but tune-up level fights against B, C, and D-level fighters. He’s never gotten close to fighting an A or elite-level fighter.
“We have just completed a multi-fight, multi-year deal with ‘Boots’. We had a meeting with Golden Boy and DAZN to talk through the terms of the Vergil Ortiz fight. Jaron Ennis has signed to fight Vergil Ortiz,” said Eddie Hearn to The Stomping Ground.
Hearn said that part of the deal with Ennis was that he would fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. However, he still needs to come up with enough money to deliver the Ortiz Jr. fight to ‘Boots,’ and it may not happen if Hearn can’t come up with a good enough offer. He couldn’t negotiate deals for Ennis to fight Josh Kelly or Brian Norman Jr. You’ve got to believe that Vergil Jr. will want more money than what was offered to those two.
Negotiating the Ennis-Ortiz Deal
“We believe Vergil Ortiz will also sign to fight ‘Boots,’ and that fight will happen in January or February next year. Both guys are going to fight in October. As I said, ‘Boots’ has signed to fight Vergil Ortiz, and you will see what I believe is one of the biggest fights in boxing,” said Hearn.
Ortiz Jr. still has to sign for the fight to get made with Ennis. It doesn’t mean anything that ‘Boots’ has signed off on the deal when it still requires Vergil Jr. to agree to it. Besides that, there’s a lot of stuff that can happen in between. Ortiz Jr. and Ennis both are expected to take tune-ups in October, and it’s not a given they’ll win.
Vergil Jr. vs. Keith Thurman is being discussed for October. That’s a risky fight for Ortiz Jr. because Thurman can still punch and has a high boxing IQ. An ill Israil Madrimov came close to beating Ortiz Jr. last February. Madrimov was dealing with acute bronchitis. In Vergil’s fight before that, he won a controversial 12-round majority decision over Serhii Bohachuk in August 2024.
Boxing News | Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr.: Eddie Hearn’s Optimism and the Road to a Blockbuster Fight
