

Murtazaliev-Kelly winner could be next for Jaron Ennis as Vergil Ortiz deal hits wall

Manouk Akopyan
5 days ago
2 min read
Matchroom chief Eddie Hearn remains keen on making Jaron Ennis-Vergil Ortiz next, though he stressed there are other opportunities and world champions to pursue if they can't agree to terms soon.
Matchroom Boxing head Eddie Hearn doesn’t plan on dilly-dallying around much longer to get a deal done for a fight between Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz.
Hearn also has a contingency plan in place to march forward with backup options.
By the end of Saturday, the 154-pound title picture will take shape when Bakhram Murtazaliev defends his IBF title against Josh Kelly on a Hearn-promoted show in the United Kingdom. Separately, WBO champion Xander Zayas and WBA beltholder Abass Baraou will look to unify their championship belts in Puerto Rico, headlining a Top Rank show.
Hearn took the microphone Saturday on DAZN, the streaming service for which he wants to deliver Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) vs. Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs), offering an update on what the immediate future holds for the snakebitten bout.
“The deal has been discussed for the last three months. Obviously, we've seen the disagreement and fallout between Golden Boy and Vergil Ortiz. That's for them to sort out. We just want to make the fight. Sometimes when it blows up like that, the fight gets made. Sometimes it just falls apart,” said Hearn.
On January 16, Ortiz filed a lawsuit to terminate his promotional agreement with Golden Boy.
Prior to the lawsuit, Ortiz promoter Oscar De La Hoya demanded a 60-40 split and said Hearn was pigeonholing and begging on Ennis' behalf.
Team Ortiz also claimed it could move on to fight Errol Spence and Sebastian Fundora rather than Ennis. Hearn clapped back and questioned De La Hoya’s motives.
“There are other routes for both fighters, to be honest with you,” said Hearn. “But what we want to give the fans is one of the best fights in American boxing with two guys in their absolute prime. That's our job as a promotional company, and platform in DAZN, to deliver that fight.
“Next week we have Kelly fighting Murtazaliev for the world title. Kelly is already signed to fight Boots. If he pulls that off — a massive victory for British boxing — you could even see Kelly fight Boots next, or maybe Murtazaliev [faces Ennis] if he gets the win.
"Zayas fights next week against Baraou, too. There are options. I just feel that Vergil and Boots are No. 1 and No. 2 right now, and that's what we want to see. We'll do everything we can. We are so committed to that fight. We hope it gets made.”
Manouk Akopyan is The Ring's lead writer. Follow him on X and Instagram: @ManoukAkopyan
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Manouk Akopyan

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