Ennis’ rival ridiculed his troublesome moments in the third round, when Zayas seemed to buzz him with a right hand that made him stumble backward. It was the most obvious adversity Ennis needed to overcome in his 10-year, 36-fight pro career.

The two-division champion from Philadelphia responded by battering Zayas and stopping him in the seventh round of a highly entertaining main event DAZN streamed from Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Ennis sent Zayas to the canvas three times, once apiece in the first, fifth and seventh rounds.

Zayas’ trainer, Javiel Centeno, told referee Harvey Dock to stop their fight after Zayas went down to one knee with 1:19 remaining in the seventh round.

Ortiz nonetheless emphasized Ennis’ vulnerability in the third round and noted on X that he will knock out the newly crowned WBA/WBO 154-pound champ if they finally fight. An incredulous Ennis questioned Ortiz’s chin when asked about Ortiz’s critique during his post-fight press conference.

“Why he ain’t take the fight in the beginning?,” Ennis said. “You know what I’m saying? Bro, he be talking. Bro, I ain’t gonna lie – I’m trying to tell you I’m really different. And he gonna see firsthand because he gets hurt a lot. He flat-footed and he been dropped multiple times. If he get hit by me, it’s gonna be different. I’m trying to tell y’all.”

Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs) suffered two flash knockdowns against Ukrainian contender Serhii Bohachuk. He still won their 12-round bout by majority decision in August 2024.

Ortiz was previously buzzed by Egidijus Kavaliauskas in the second round of a welterweight fight he won by eighth-round technical knockout in August 2021.

It appeared as though Ennis, 29, and Ortiz, 28, would finally fight after they went face-to-face in the ring following Ortiz’s second-round knockout of Erickson Lubin (27-3, 19 KOs) on November 8 at Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas. Ortiz instead sued Golden Boy Promotions for breach of contract in mid-January, which enabled Ennis to land a shot at Zayas’ titles.

Representatives for Ortiz and Oscar De La Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions are negotiating to avoid an arbitration hearing scheduled for July 14 in Las Vegas. If they come to terms on a new contract, Ortiz will likely fight someone other than Ennis sometime in the fall.

Philadelphia’s Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs, 1 NC) is focused on fully unifying 154-pound titles, which could lead him to box WBC champ Sebastian Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs) or IBF champ Josh Kelly (18-1-1, 9 KOs) in his next bout. Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing promotes Ennis and England’s Kelly, who will make his first title defense against Northern Ireland’s Caoimhin Agyarko (18-0, 7 KOs) on the Anthony Joshua-Kristian Prenga undercard July 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.

Ortiz, of Grand Prairie, Texas, is The Ring’s No. 1 contender for a vacant junior middleweight title. Ennis is ranked No. 5, but he will move up after his impressive performance against the third-ranked Zayas (23-1, 13 KOs), of Sunrise, Florida.

Fundora and Kelly are respectively ranked No. 2 and No. 6 by The Ring.