Fans hoping to see a super-welterweight super-fight between Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr may be about to feel a sting of disappointment.
On Saturday night Ortiz smashed former world title challenger Erickson Lubin in two rounds to retain his WBC Interim belt. The 27-year-old delighted the partisan crowd in Fort Worth, Texas with Ennis watching ringside along with his promoter Eddie Hearn.
Ennis and Ortiz then shared a back and forth verbal exchange in the ring afterwards to add more spice to their growing rivalry. A matchup between the two is the biggest fight in the 154lbs division and Ennis made it clear he wants to fight the Mexican-American next.
However, speaking to Fight Hype afterwards Ortiz, 24-0 (22 KOs), revealed who he would like to face next if the choice was his – Errol Spence Jr.
“It doesn’t matter who’s next. If I had to pick, I’ll be honest, it’d be [Errol] Spence. That’s my dream fight [at] Cowboys Stadium. I don’t care what anyone says about it. Anyone can get it, respectfully. I just wanna fight the best. I’m a competitive guy.”
Yesterday, Ortiz’s manager Rick Mirigan made noise on Instagram about the all-Texas matchup at AT&T Stadium –– home of NFL franchise Dallas Cowboys.
“I think Vergil vs Spence at Cowboys Stadium (biggest all-Texas matchup in history). [Jermell] Charlo vs ‘Boots’ as co-main and the winners fight each other. (Makes sense, Charlo and Boots both turned ‘Boots’ down).”
Should Ortiz Jr vs Spence take place next then it would be Spence’s first fight since July 2023 when Terence Crawford emphatically won their undisputed welterweight title fight in Las Vegas.
