The Ring’s No. 2-ranked junior middleweight will return December 5 in Glendale, Arizona on the undercard of David Benavidez vs. Michal Cieslak, as he takes on Keith Thurman in a middleweight clash.

Since Thurman, a former welterweight champion, is 37 and coming off a sixth-round stoppage defeat at the hands of WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora, fans haven’t been kind to Ortiz and his opponent selection. While he understands their frustrations, he doesn’t believe he had much of a choice.

“Shout out to Keith Thurman for taking this fight and actually believing in his ability to beat this eternal prospect after a year-long layoff,” Ortiz wrote on social media.

“You would think a fighter who has never competed for a full world title and hasn't fought in over a year for the second time in 3 years, and with a history of a literal muscle-decaying disease would be easy pickings and people would be lining up to fight him. But nah, somehow someway the world champions found a way to not fight. We tried to fight everybody and only one guy was up for it. Massive respect to Keith.”

It’s been a forgettable year for the WBC interim junior middleweight champion. In the first half of 2026, Ortiz appeared to be on the verge of securing a showdown against Jaron Ennis, The Ring’s No. 1 junior middleweight.

However, Ortiz and Oscar De La Hoya, his promoter, became embroiled in legal issues, and although the pair have since settled their differences amicably, Ortiz will have been out of the ring for 13 months by the time he fights Thurman.

Ennis, who went on to beat Xander Zayas for his WBA and WBO 154-pound titles, is closing in on a deal that would see him take on IBF champion Josh Kelly next. Fundora is coming off a 12th-round stoppage win over Ermal Hadribeaj on October 17.

In addition to the junior middleweight champions being unavailable, the 160-pound belt holders are mostly tied up.

Carlos Adames, the WBC middleweight champion, returns on November 14. WBA titlist Erislandy Lara takes on Tim Tszyu in December in Australia, and Denzel Bentley is attempting to defend his WBO title against Shane Mosley Jr. on November 7.

With no one of note ready, willing, and able to fight him, Ortiz is simply happy that he finally has a dance partner.

“We're going to shake up Phoenix on December 5th as the co-main for Benavidez,” Ortiz said. “It's gonna be a great night of boxing.”