Coach Bernie Davis says he believes Vergil Ortiz Jr’s team is pricing him out for a fight against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis by asking for $10 million for it to happen. Davis points out that it’s a “championship-level” fight between them, as neither of them holds world titles at 154.
As Bernie mentions, the $10 million that Team Vergil Jr. wants for the Ennis fight could be a signal that they’re not interested in that fight. Ortiz Jr’s mention of Jermell Charlo and Errol Spence as two fighters he’d like to face is a strong signal of what direction he’s going in.
Ortiz Jr. (24-0, 22 KOs) is the WBC interim junior middleweight champion, but that’s not the real thing. Sebastian Fundora holds the WBC full title. Vergil Jr. just has the interim strap that he won by a controversial 12-round majority decision against Serhii Bohachuk on August 10, 2024.
Bernie says that Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) has more “buzz” [popularity] around him right now than Vergil Jr., which is partly to do with a combination of his promoter, Eddie Hearn, talking him up during interviews. Also, ‘Boots’ has looked so impressive with the way he wins, showing off boxing skills that even put Terence Crawford to shame.
In contrast, the Golden Boy-promoted Ortiz Jr. hasn’t been as heavily talked about in interviews by his promoter, Oscar De La Hoya. He looks more like a blue-collar-type fighter who walks you down and outslugs his opponents.
“That’s too much,” said trainer Bernie Davis to MillCity Boxing, reacting to being told that Vergil Ortiz Jr’s manager, Rick Mirigian, wants $10 million for Ortiz Jr. to fight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. “It’s not even a championship fight. It’s a championship-caliber fight, and Vergil Ortiz hasn’t proven himself to be a $10 million fighter.
Without Turki Alalshikh getting involved, the $10 million would seem way too high for a fight against Ennis. Vergil Jr. isn’t a PPV fighter, and neither is ‘Boots.’ Even if they placed the fight on DAZN PPV, it’s unlikely that it would bring in enough PPV buys to cover the cost of the purses.
“Now, if the shiekh [Turki Alalshikh] wants to get involved because there’s a buzz around that fight,” said Davis. “I really think the more buzz is around ‘Boots.’ I think Vergil has a steady following, but the buzz is around ‘Boots.’
“I think the guys [Team Ortiz Jr.] are thinking that since they could lose and it would set them back, ‘We want the most money we can get out of the situation.’ I don’t knock them for trying that, but I think they’re trying to overprice themselves,” said Diaz.
It’s hard to predict whether Turki would want to involve himself in an Ortiz Jr. vs. Ortiz Jr. fight. Entertainment-wise, he should want to, as it’s a better fight on paper than the ones he’s been putting on, involving pure boxers like Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson. Those guys’ recent fights have been painfully boring on Turki’s cards. At least with Ennis vs. Ortiz Jr., it’s a match that is guaranteed to entertain.
Last Updated on 11/13/2025
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