Duck Season at 154: Ortiz's Camp Says Boots Ducked the Best Fight, While Oscar Lines Up Thurman

Tags: SOCIAL BEEF · WHO'S NEXT · REPORTED (Ortiz-Thurman talks, Ennis-Kelly) / RUMOR (any Ortiz-Ennis date) Rumor-Meter:

• Ortiz Jr. vs Ennis: 🧊 COLD. Both sides say it isn't next.
• Ortiz Jr. vs Thurman on the Benavidez card: 🌡️ WARM. The promoter says it's being negotiated; nothing signed.
• Ennis vs Kelly: 🔥 HOT. Terms agreed on both sides, according to Kelly's camp; date and venue still TBC.

Ringcard says ROUND ONE, sweethearts, and the 154-pound division has gone straight to name-calling. The fight everybody wants, Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs Jaron "Boots" Ennis, still isn't happening, and today Team Ortiz told us whose fault they think that is.

The shot from Ortiz's corner

Ortiz's trainer Robert Garcia told Fight Hub TV (Oct 12):

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"If Boots would've said, before unifying I want to give the fans the best fight out there at 154, it would've been our (Team Ortiz Jr.) next fight! Both fighters next fight!"

Translation from the ring-girl dictionary: we were ready, your move. That's Garcia's side of it, though. Nobody from Team Boots has answered that clip as of this writing.

Why Boots has a very good alibi

Boots isn't exactly hiding under the apron. He's lined up a three-belt unification with IBF champ Josh Kelly. Kelly's trainer and manager Adam Booth told The Ring:

"We've had our terms agreed for the 'Boots' fight for some time. From what I've been told, he has agreed to his terms as well. It's literally waiting for DAZN to give Matchroom a date."

And Eddie Hearn is already thinking about the next one. Per Boxing247, he said:

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"We're also in talks at the moment with [Sampson Lewkowicz] and PBC about the winner fighting Fundora straight off the bat, and looking to contract that almost in the same process. Certainly, Boots, all he wants to do is try and become undisputed as quickly as possible."

So is it a duck, or is it belt-collecting? Depends whose corner you're sitting in, darling.

Oscar's plan B: Thurman

Over at Golden Boy, Oscar De La Hoya told Fight Hub TV that Ortiz vs Keith Thurman is being negotiated for the David Benavidez undercard. Here it is via Bad Left Hook (Oct 5):

"Yeah, that's the talk. That's the talk, to fight him on the Benavidez card, which would be awesome... We're working out things with Keith Thurman. It's not the opponent yet because things are being worked out but we're hoping that we can get Vergil's career back on track."

And on why it isn't Boots:

"I wish it would've been the Boots fight but we can't keep our fighter idle for so long... So, we had to keep Vergil busy and not idle and so Keith Thurman is one guy that's always willing to fight the best, which is very cool…That is the plan but you never know what happens after that, so we'll see."

Read that closely. Oscar's version is about timing and activity. Garcia's is about Boots' choices. Same corner, two different scorecards. 💅

Fake quote alert 🚨

A line about the Ennis situation was going around with ESPN's Mike Coppinger's name on it. Coppinger replied on his own account: "Nonsense, that's not from me" (Oct 12). So it's not from him, and you won't read it here. Check the handle before you hit repost, babes.

Who's next: the Whisperer's card

Whisperer's read: Neither man is sitting still, and that's good news for both. The catch is the longer Boots collects belts and Ortiz takes detours, the bigger and pricier this fight gets. Somebody will have to blink first.

🔔 Whisper Update (Oct 12, 2026): REPORTED. That 154-pound what-if is off the table. Trainer Robert Garcia told Fight Hub TV, as reported by Boxing News, that with Boots unifying and Fundora booked, both are expected to chase undisputed, so "we just made the decision to just campaign at 160lbs." Ortiz–Ennis at 154: COLD (frozen). The new what-if is at 160, and Garcia thinks "eventually, both Fundora and Boots will move up to 160 anyways." Ortiz–Thurman on the Benavidez card, Saturday Dec 5 in Phoenix: still WARM. Boxing News calls it expected, but nothing has been announced as signed. Full story: Ringcard Flipped: Vergil Ortiz Is a Middleweight Now, His Trainer Says.

🗳️ Fight Predictions poll

If Ortiz Jr. vs Boots Ennis finally happens in 2027, who wins?

• Ortiz Jr. by KO
• Ortiz Jr. on points
• Boots by KO
• Boots on points
• It never happens 🦆

Bonus: Who wins their next fight more impressively: Ortiz (vs Thurman, if it's made) or Boots (vs Kelly)?

You didn't hear it from me… 🤫

Sources

• Fight Hub TV on X, Robert Garcia quote, Oct 12, 2026
• Bad Left Hook (Wil Esco), De La Hoya on Ortiz-Thurman, Oct 5, 2026
• Mike Coppinger on X, disowning the misattributed quote, Oct 12, 2026
• The Ring, Booth on the Ennis-Kelly deal
• Boxing247, Hearn on late January and Fundora