Vergil Ortiz Jr. reacted on social media to Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ decision not to accept the fight against him on February 22. Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) told his followers it wasn’t his fault the fight with Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) didn’t happen.
Was Ennis Serious?
Fans criticized Boots for writing 147 in the paperwork for fight negotiations with interim WBC junior middleweight champion Vergil Jr., suggesting he was never serious about fighting.
There was no way the 26-year-old Ortiz could drain to fight Boots at 147 without risking his health. Ortiz moved to 154 because he had health problems in 2022, dropping to 147. It was the last year he fought in that division.
It is not clear that the idea was on the team of Boots Ennis to write 147 as the weight for the fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr. Ennis is promoted by Eddie Hearn.
Ideally, he should have scrapped the idea to prevent the mess this episode caused because there was no chance that Vergil Jr. agrees to a fight at 147.
Team Ennis believed that Vergil Jr. agree to the weight of 147 because the money would be good and the amount of attention the fight would get if they fought on the loaded card on February 22nd in Riyadh? In other words, were they testing Vergil to see if he was gullible enough to accept this burden?
If Vergil had agreed to fight at 147, it would have given Boots Ennis a huge advantage, fighting a frail and skeletal Vergil Jr., who would have been drained and powerless at the weight.
This whole episode hurt the popularity of Boots Ennis because he should have known better. The only way this fight could have happened is if Boots went up to 154 to challenge Vergil Jr. for his interim WBC belt. Ennis should have agreed to that, because as things stand now, he is perceived as learning.
Boots promoter Eddie Hearn said he wanted to stay at 147 and unify the division. He does not want to give up his IBF welterweight title. He shouldn’t have bothered negotiating with Vergil Jr if that was the case.
Vergil Jr.’s statement
I’ve always said I’m going to fight someone and I’ve stayed true to my word. Every person I was offered to fight I said yes. It takes 2 to tango in boxing, so if I’m not in that ring beating someone, you know it’s not my fault! It’s time for some of you to stop saying you are…
— Vergil Ortiz Jr. (@VergilOrtiz) November 30, 2024
