Jaron Ennis may require a victory over Vergil Ortiz Jr to prove himself as the man to beat at super-welterweight, but with hope dwindling that the pair will meet next, ‘Boots’ has revealed whether he thinks the fight will soon take place.
Ennis held the unified IBF and WBA welterweight world titles but opted to move up to 154lbs after difficulties making the 147lb limit.
Upon his debut at the weight, Ennis needed only one round to dispatch of Uisma Lima and already the Philadelphian is considered as the top dog in the division by the vast majority of fans, despite not holding a belt.
Similarly, the undefeated Ortiz has announced himself as a major player at super-welterweight but the Texan holds only the WBC Interim title, in a strange 154lb landscape where the two most popular, and arguably talented, fighters are without a title.
Nevertheless, Ennis and Ortiz have been linked to a showdown for years now and a scrap between the pair was considered to be one of the most in-demand potential bouts of 2026.
Their long-awaited fight seems to be further away than ever though, with Ortiz recently issuing his promoter Oscar De La Hoya with a 32-page lawsuit in an attempt to void his contract, due to frustration at being unable to secure the fight with his rival.
Yet speaking with YSM Sports Media, Ennis maintained ‘high hopes’ that the fight could still happen next, regardless of Ortiz and De La Hoya’s ongoing dispute.
“As of right now, no update, but I have high hopes that the fight is going to happen, that is the fight that I want next. Everybody has got to stay tuned.”
Ennis’ promoter Eddie Hearn has maintained that his fighter will return in the spring and has named Josh Kelly as an alternate option for his unbeaten 28-year-old, providing the Briton can pull off the upset and dethrone IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev this weekend.
