The talk hasn’t stopped, but the money has changed. For months, the assumption around boxing was that a showdown between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Jaron “Boots” Ennis would eventually be pushed across the line by Saudi funding. That cushion is no longer there. Without it, the fight has landed back in the real market, and the landing has not been smooth.
Once a third party is no longer absorbing the risk, the economics shift fast. Oscar De La Hoya spent the week stressing that negotiations with DAZN are ongoing, but the tone has moved away from anticipation and toward reassurance. This is no longer about announcing a major event. It is about whether the numbers can be made to behave. Without a safety net, every percentage point matters, and small disagreements have a way of hardening instead of resolving.
The calendar has added pressure. The March 28 Las Vegas date that once sat there for Ortiz and Ennis is gone, now occupied by Sebastian Fundora’s defense against Keith Thurman. Losing that slot removes urgency and leverage at the same time. It also makes patience more expensive.
For Ennis, alternatives exist, but they are telling. He can move toward the winner of Bakhram Murtazaliev versus Josh Kelly, or take a difficult technical fight against Israil Madrimov. Those bouts keep him busy and credible, but they do not replace what a win over Ortiz would represent, either competitively or historically.
This is not about desire. Both fighters want the same thing, to establish themselves as the best at 154 pounds. The obstacle is structural. Ortiz’s legal dispute with Golden Boy complicates an already tight financial picture, and in a market that has turned cautious almost overnight, complications carry real weight.
At this point, the question is simple. Is Ortiz versus Ennis a necessity that the business has to solve, or a luxury that looks easier to postpone once the spreadsheet gets involved?
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Last Updated on 01/28/2026
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