The boxing fan in Erickson Lubin wants to see Vergil Ortiz and Jaron “Boots” Ennis finally fight.

The businessman and competitor within the junior middleweight contender understands one of his objectives November 8 is to make sure Ortiz and Ennis don’t fight next. Turki Alalshikh, DAZN CEO Shay Segev and promoters Eddie Hearn (Ennis) and Oscar De La Hoya (Ortiz) are all interested in matching Ennis against Ortiz if they win their upcoming fights.

Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs, 1 NC) will make his junior middleweight debut against Angola’s Uisma Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) on October 11 at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Ennis’ hometown of Philadelphia.

Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) will defend his WBC interim 154-pound title when he battles Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) four weeks later at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, near Ortiz’s hometown of Grand Prairie.

DraftKings lists Ennis as a 25-1 favorite and Ortiz as a 6-1 favorite in advance of main events DAZN will stream. Lubin has his own 154-pound showdown in mind for 2026, though, and must knock off Ortiz to make it more marketable.

“I’m trying to create a fight with me and Fundora again,” Lubin told The Ring. “That’s what’s in my mind. They got the Ennis-Ortiz fight, and I do think that’s a great fight. I’m a fan and do wanna see that, but now that I’m in the way I gotta [expletive] up the plans. I wanna make a fight between me and Fundora, can’t let nobody get in the way of that.”

Fundora, 27, and Lubin, 29, produced a “Fight of the Year” candidate in April 2022 at Virgin Hotels Las Vegas.

Lubin and Fundora were both knocked down during a memorable brawl that included numerous exciting exchanges and momentum shifts. Fundora won by technical knockout when Lubin’s former trainer, Kevin Cunningham, stopped their brutal battle after the ninth round largely because Lubin’s face was severely swollen.

Lubin led 85-84 on two scorecards through nine rounds of fantastic action. They were even, 85-85, on the other card.

Lubin is 3-0 since Fundora defeated him. The southpaw from Orlando, Florida beat a pair of unbeaten opponents, Jesus Ramos (23-1, 19 KOs) and Ardreal Holmes Jr. (17-1, 6 KOs), in his last two fights.

His 11th-round stoppage of Holmes on May 10 made him the mandatory challenger for IBF champ Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs). Lubin chose to fight Ortiz instead because it afforded him a bigger purse, a higher-profile opportunity and a chance to position himself for a second Fundora fight.

Fundora (23-1-1. 15 KOs), of Coachella, California, is scheduled to face former WBA/WBC welterweight champ Keith Thurman (31-1, 23 KOs, 1 NC) next month. Their 12-round fight for Fundora’s WBC junior middleweight title will headline a Premier Boxing Champions pay-per-view show October 25 from MGM Grand Garden Arena in Las Vegas.

“I think it’s gonna be a good fight,” Lubin said, “but with Fundora’s youth, size and volume I think he’s gonna be able to beat Keith Thurman. Fundora has too much size and Thurman hasn’t really fought the top-tier guys in years, so I feel with a guy like [Fundora] he’s coming back to fight one of the champions. He’s fighting a guy who’s 6-foot-6 or whatever you wanna list him at.

“So, it’s gonna a little bit different. He’s gonna be uncomfortable in there. We’ll see what Thurman has left in the tank because people like to go out there and create narratives. Maybe he’s working like a beast, still knocking people out in the gym and stuff like that. You never know, but he obviously wants to do this for a reason, whether it’s the money or for the love of the game. But I think we’re in for a treat.”