By Elliot Raines: Promoter Oscar De La Hoya says his fighter, Vergil Ortiz Jr., is the “golden ticket” for all other boxers between the ages of 147 and 154 to fight for a “megafight” in front of a packed Cowboys Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
(Source: Golden Boy Promos/Cris Esqueda)
Ortiz (23-0, 21 KO) will face a solemn test next Saturday, November 8, against Erickson Lubin (27-2, 19 KO), which will decide whether he will become the star predicted by De La Hoya.
Dream about a cowboy stadium
Vergil Jr. at 27, he’s still unproven, and he hasn’t looked like gold in his last two fights at 154 since he fought solid B fighters Israil Madrimov and Serhiy Bohachuk. Lubin, another B fighter, may prove to be too much for Ortiz Jr., which will thwart Oscar’s vision.
If interim WBC junior middleweight champion Ortiz Jr. loses this fight, it will put De La Hoya in a hard situation in which he will have to explain what happened and confront the truth about his fighter. He’s not as good as he thinks.
“Ennis will tell Eddie, ‘I don’t want Vergil next. Give me another fight to build up.’ Vergil Ortiz is very hungry to win the world title now,” De La Hoya said media on Thursday, talking about Jaron “Boots” Ennis and his promoter, Eddie Hearn. They plan to be at ringside during Ortiz Jr.’s fight with Lubin.
The vision De La Hoya had in mind won’t come to fruition if he decides not to fight Ortiz Jr. next. v. Ennis. The fight against WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora won’t be gigantic enough to fill Cowboys Stadium or generate huge PPV buys on DAZN.
Vergil Jr. he needs Ennis “Boots” for this because he is probably the most popular fighter now that Terence Crawford has left the 154-pound division and moved up to 168-pounds.
“He won on Saturday night and fought Boots. The next thing is coming because Vergil will come with everything,” De La Hoya said.
The Golden Ticket Vision
“Vergil Ortiz, no matter what weight class he is in, everyone follows him because everyone knows that wherever he is, he has a golden ticket. Only he knows that he will be able to fill Cowboys Stadium,” De La Hoya said.
Ortiz Jr. he needs to look great in Saturday’s match against Erickson, and not struggle like he did in the matches against Madrimov and Bohachuk. He didn’t look like anyone’s golden ticket in these players. But even if he’s great, he’ll need one of these players to sell out Cowboys Stadium:
Jaron Ennis
Ryan Garcia
Devin Haney
None of the other 154-pounders other than Ennis boast those numbers. The 160-pound division is nameless. Ortiz is banking on Ennis and 147-pounders Ryan and Haney.
“Like he told Jerry Jones when he was a kid, ‘I’ll fill this stadium for you,’ and I believe it now. But only he can do it. Without Vergil Ortiz, no one can do it now. If Vergil fights anyone in his next fight, it will be a mega event.”
Oscar De La Hoya believes Gervonta Davis’ professional record should see a loss ahead of his potential comeback fight.
It is said that the 31-year-old is in negotiations for a fight for the WBA lightweight title with Floyd Schofield Jr, offering “Tank” the opportunity to regain his elderly belt.
Davis defended his world title after: controversial draw with Lamont Roach in March 2025, but has since become the sanctioning body’s “halt champion” at 135 pounds.
This is partly due to his passivity, but also to the American’s problems outside the ring, where he faced accusations of domestic violence.
However, it currently appears that Davis could return to action soon, with a potential fight with Schofield set for September or October.
These negotiations involve Schofield’s promoter, Golden Boy boss De La Hoya, who insists that “Tank” should suffer his first professional defeat in the match against Roach.
Their match ended in a draw after referee Steve Willis ruled against a knockdown in round nine when Davis clearly touched the canvas following a shot by Roach.
As a result, De La Hoya said Fighting Hub TV that Roach should have back-to-back victories over “Tank” and Isaac “Pitbull” Cruz, whom he boxed in December to a less controversial draw.
“Roach is a great fighter in his own right. He has some really good wins under his belt. I say he wins because I think he really won against ‘Tank’ Davis and I think he did a great job against ‘Pitbull.’
If Davis and Schofield’s respective teams are unable to reach an agreement by June 22, their mandate quarterback will be sent to a bidding hearing.
Potential negotiations between Devin Haney and Shakur Stevenson have taken another public turn after Stevenson accused his rival of engaging in “false public negotiations” following Haney’s latest comments on social media.
Haney appeared frustrated after previously agreeing to Stevenson’s proposed catchweight of 144 pounds, suggesting that even accepting those terms did not bring the fight any closer to becoming a reality.
“144 is not enough…I still don’t want to fight! Damn…@ShakurStevenson,” Haney wrote X.
Shakur later responded by dismissing this public exchange as a impoverished reflection of how main event fights actually unfold.
“The same thing you all did with Rolly. All those counterfeit public negotiations… The real negotiations take place offline.” I am the truth that you will see when you stand before me!!” Shakur posted.
Shakiur previously considered 144 pounds to be a fair compromise in a potential showdown with Haney, who has competed at welterweight in his most recent outings. Haney then signaled his willingness to accept the catchweight offer, sparking optimism that one of boxing’s most talked-about fights could gain momentum.
The latest exchange came shortly after the WBO confirmed that Haney must either defend his welterweight title against mandatory challenger Keyshawn Davis or risk losing the belt. While neither Haney nor Stevenson directly addressed the situation in their recent posts, the article did add another note to any future negotiations involving the former two-division world champions.
With Haney facing a WBO title decision and Shakur insisting that stern negotiations will take place behind closed doors, the pressure is now on both camps to determine whether the fight can go beyond an online exchange.
Dan Ambrose is a boxing journalist at Boxing News 24, respected for his direct analysis and extensive coverage of the global fight landscape. His reports focus on the most critical fights, division development and the most discussed stories in sports.
Shakur Stevenson maintained his predictions for the Errol Spence Jr vs. Tim Tszyu fight, believing that one fighter would be too “mentally tough” for the other.
Even though Tszyu insisted on fighting at super welterweight, his opponent clearly felt the extra 4 pounds would be appropriate after his three-year layoff.
This long break came after Spence suffered a ninth-round stoppage loss to Terence Crawford, who became the undisputed king of the 147-pound division in surprisingly one-sided fashion.
Spence previously held the WBC, IBF and WBA titles with victories over Shawn Porter, Kell Brook and Yordenis Ugas, although a weight augment always seemed inevitable.
Now the 36-year-old hopes to revive his career against Tszyu, who is coming off a two-point win after losing to Sebastian Fundora last July.
While their rematch ended in the seventh round, Tszyu showed tremendous strength against Fundora in 2024, only to lose the WBO title via split decision.
Later that year, the Australian suffered a third-round defeat to Bakhram Murtazaliev, with four-division world champion Stevenson saying: The whole fight against smoke that he thinks Spence is a level above him.
“I think so [Spence] I will do well. I wish Errol all the best; I hope Errol goes in there and beats Tim Tszyu.
“I’m an Errol Spence fan; I was okay with Errol Spence before [Crawford] fight. I know Errol is mentally forceful – Errol is a dog when it comes to fighting, so I don’t think Tim Tszyu can beat him.
Stevenson previously suggested that Spence could “destroy” Tszyu, believing the 31-year-old’s style was tailor-made for “The Truth.”
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