Promoter Oscar De La Hoya confirmed to the media today that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis didn’t want to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. He says they “called out” Ennis, but then he “backtracked” rather than taking the risky fight.
(Credit: Golden Boy)
Boots (34-0, 30 KOs) instead took a lower-paying, less risky fight against Eimantas Stanionis last Saturday in a move that many felt was one of self-preservation. Ennis gauged his chances against Vergil Ortz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) and concluded that it was safer to take the easier road against WBA welterweight champion Stanionis (15-1, 9 KOs).
It does look bad on Boots’ part that he chose to take the lesser fight, but you have to understand his situation. He’d just struggled for the second time against Karen Chukhadzhian last November in a fight that he came close to losing.
He’d seen how Vergil Jr. had looked in his victory over former WBC interim 154-lb champion Serhii Bohachuk last August.
“We all know Boots doesn’t want to fight Vergil. That’s what happened, right?” said Oscar De La Hoya to Fight Hub TV when asked about his thoughts on a fight between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr.
A “Duck Job?”
There’s no other way of looking at Ennis’ decision to take a lesser fight against Stanionis other than it being a duck job. It’s good for fighters to know their limitations because Ennis had already seen enough of Ortiz Jr’s fights to know that he couldn’t beat him.
So, went with the easier fight against Stanionis, and used the excuse that he wanted to stay at 147 to complete his goal of becoming undisputed champion.
“We called him out and had a fight, and then they [Team Boots Ennis] backtracked,” said De La Hoya. “So, until I see something on paper that Boots wants to fight Vergil, then I’ll believe it. Everybody was calling each other out, and then all of a sudden, they [Ennis] pulled off the Vergil train,” said De La Hoya when asked what makes him think Boots didn’t want the fight with Ortiz Jr.
“So, who knows what the reasons are, but look, Vergil is the man at 154. That’s the bottom line,” said Oscar.
Last Updated on 04/17/2025
