It takes years for a fighter to become a star but Oscar De La Hoya believes that’s what he has in Vergil Ortiz Jr. He hasn’t been fortunate enough to fight for a world title just yet but that’s just a matter of time according to the Hall of Famer.

For the most part, there’s always been questions surrounding him. Is he as good as he seems? Is the power real? How will he do at the top level? All of those questions were answered in his last two fights.

Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov pushed Ortiz but a funny thing happened, he pushed back. Following those wins, Ortiz wants a crack at any of the junior middleweight belt holders. That’s where De La Hoya comes in.

Somewhere in California, De La Hoya is residing in his palatial estate with his hand on his chin. He knows that Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) has earned a shot at one of the three champions. But by and large, he isn’t entirely worried about finalizing an immediate deal. If 154 had a logjam at the top of it, that would be one thing, but considering all of the high-level names that currently reside in the junior middleweight division, he knows that Ortiz’s options are endless.

“There’s a lot of options out there for Vergil,” said De La Hoya during an interview with FightHype.com. “I’m excited.”

A fight with Sebastian Fundora would be fun and a matchup with Bakhram Murtazaliev would be as violent as it gets but De La Hoya has something special up his sleeves.

“Imagine if we can put together a (Errol) Spence vs. Vergil fight in Dallas stadium,” continued De La Hoya. “That would sell out the place.”

Texas vs. Texas? It makes all the sense in the world...at least from a financial standpoint. The problem with that showdown is an obvious one, Spence has been out of sight and out of mind.

It’s been nearly two years since he was seen. His last memory in a ring wasn’t his best.

In July of 2023, Spence (28-1, 22 KOs) was annihilated against Terence Crawford, losing essentially every second of every round before being stopped in the ninth.

There’s been a few playful teases by Spence but just when fans got their hopes up, they were dashed away. Currently, there are no signs that he'll make a return but if he did, De La Hoya wants to talk business with him.

“That’s something to consider.”