Promoter Oscar De La Hoya continues to describe the situation as routine negotiations. I’m talking to Fightemphasized that talks have been going on for months and are still ongoing.
“We have been in negotiations with DAZN for a long time,” De La Hoya said. “We have a great relationship with DAZN and have hosted some great events with them. There is no reason for that relationship to end.”
De La Hoya added that talks began long before the contract expired. “We started in October, November and even September last year,” he said. “It’s such a complicated contract that it takes time.”
This explanation is currently being tested in court. In mid-January, Vergil Ortiz Jr. filed a lawsuit to terminate the promotional contract with Golden Boy. The motion pointed to a specific provision, Section 3k, that Ortiz’s legal team said would allow him to walk away from his contract if Golden Boy’s exclusive deal with DAZN expires. From this point of view, the December 31 deadline was not a technical delay, but a trigger.
Ortiz’s lawyers go further, arguing that ongoing talks do not lead to a binding agreement. The lawsuit describes Golden Boy’s position as a “consent agreement,” which is intended to emphasize that negotiations alone do not replace an lively broadcasting agreement.
The lawsuit also drags Golden Boy’s most valuable potential fight into the dispute. Ortiz accuses the company of not acting in good faith to finalize the fight with Jaron Ennis and instead used his availability as leverage in talks with DAZN. This fight has long been seen as an anchor for any renewed deal. Industry reports suggest that DAZN wants Ennis vs. Ortiz to be the main focus of the fight. With Ortiz now challenging his contract, that leverage has been weakened.
The broader market only adds to the pressure. Top Rank has been without a major network since its deal with ESPN expired in 2025, and instead relies on restricted FAST channel distribution to maintain dates. At the same time, Zuffa Boxing, led by Dana White, recently signed a multi-year deal with Paramount+ through 2026, locking down the platform while others climb.
This contrast matters. Golden Boy is still negotiating, still hoping, and still unprotected. De La Hoya’s optimism may yet be rewarded, but when players start pointing out exit clauses and referees start reading contracts, patience stops being a strategy and becomes a risk.