Vergil Ortiz loves fighting the best of the best. Fans, in turn, appreciate his willingness to do just that. Oscar De La Hoya, his current promoter, knows a thing or two about fighting tough competition.

His Hall of Fame career wasn’t based on just his good looks and fast hands. No, during his prime, De La Hoya was putting in the work. Ortiz, similarly, is doing the same.

Fighting style and personality aside, Ortiz is nothing like the fighter his promoter once was but De La Hoya remembers what it was like being in those shoes. Candidly, he believes in Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) and is confident in what he will become. However, as he continues to figure out who to throw him in with next, De La Hoya doesn’t want to overwhelm him.

“As a promoter, I have to keep in mind that Vergil is coming off two tough fights which can be tough on the body,” said De La Hoya to FightHype.com. “Tough on the mind.”

Those two bouts that he’s alluding to were against Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov. In both matchups, Ortiz took a considerable amount of damage but at the age of 27, De La Hoya doesn’t believe there will be any lasting effects.

In terms of what’s next, the WBC interim strap that he holds could dictate what they do. Sebastian Fundora holds two of the division's titles, Terence Crawford is a pound-for-pound star and owns the WBA strap, while Bakhram Murtazaliev has the IBF crown.

Those are the sort of names that Ortiz wants to share the ring with. De La Hoya isn’t opposed to it. Actually, he wants to make those showdowns happen but first things first, how about something a bit on the easier side?

“I’m thinking about maybe doing a homecoming party for him in Dallas,” continued De La Hoya. “Fight a top 10 guy and then go after Fundora, then go after Crawford.”