“We’re talking to Keith Thurman,” Oscar De La Hoya, Ortiz’s promoter, told Ariel Helwani during a recent interview on his YouTube channel. “We’re finalizing that deal. Hopefully we can have him on the [David] Benavidez card in December, which would be great. I’m really looking forward to that.”

Although it hasn’t been announced, Benavidez, the WBA and WBO cruiserweight champ, is expected to take on WBC titleholder Michal Cieslak on December 12.

In terms of Thurman (31-2, 23 KOs, 1 NC) being tabbed as Ortiz’s next opponent, it comes as a surprise. While Ortiz is ranked No. 2 by The Ring at 154 pounds, his team recently said that his next fight would likely be contracted at the middleweight limit of 160.

Thurman’s last two fights – including his lopsided sixth-round stoppage defeat to WBC champ Sebastian Fundora on March 28 at MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas – were contested at 154.

Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs), of Grand Prairie, Texas, has also said that he wanted big-name opponents. The 28-year-old WBC interim 154-pound champ was seemingly on the verge of facing The Ring’s No. 1-ranked junior middleweight, Jaron “Boots” Ennis. Those talks broke down, however, as Ortiz and De La Hoya became embroiled in a legal battle they eventually settled.

Philadelphia’s Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs, 1 NC) went on to dethrone Xander Zayas (23-1, 13 KOs) for his WBA and WBO titles on June 27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, while Ortiz has remained on the shelf. He hasn’t fought since recording a second-round stoppage of Erickson Lubin on November 8 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

With Ennis heading toward a title unification bout against IBF champion Josh Kelly, perhaps in January, both he and Ortiz continue to go in opposite directions.

Even with that fight not happening in the immediate future, De La Hoya knows that Ortiz and Ennis have to meet up at some point.

“I feel like that fight has to happen,” De La Hoya said. “We were in the middle of negotiating and finally making that fight happen and then we all know exactly what happened after that. Now we’re back to square one. We went through hell and back, me and Vergil and his team. But I’m so glad that we finalized terms for his next fight. I’m just trying to get Vergil back on track and help him become world champion.”