Public posturing has already commenced between rival promoters Oscar De La Hoya and Eddie Hearn in regard to staging a fight between Vergil Ortiz and Jaron Ennis.

Seconds after Ortiz (24-0, 22 KOs) knocked out Erickson Lubin inside of two rounds on Saturday, “Boots” Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) stepped inside the squared circle at the Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, and faced off with Ortiz to begin building up a potential bout.

It’s evidently clear that the junior middleweight contenders, as well as Golden Boy Promotions and Matchroom Boxing, want to make the fight. Now, the million dollar question becomes how the millions will be distributed among the involved parties for a deal to get done.

“This can be a great negotiation,” De La Hoya told reporters on Saturday. “When I say this has to be favorable to Vergil, that's the obvious case. Look at what he did. Look at what he is. Vergil is the man. Having the fight in Las Vegas is going to be huge. Vergil has to be the favorite here when it comes to negotiations. As long as they are favorable, we'll make the fight happen. There's no problem. Money is not going to be an issue because there will be enough money in the pot.

“[Hearn] better not [say Ennis is the guy]. There is no question that I have the man. There is no question that Vergil Ortiz is the man. I feel that these negotiations will be negotiations, just like any other fight. We'll go back and forth, but at the end of the day, Vergil is the man ... Vergil is in such a great place right now. If we don't get favorable negotiations, we can always go to Errol Spence Jr. or we can go to Sebastian Fundora. So there are a lot of options for Vergil.”

By Monday, Hearn caught wind of De La Hoya’s comments and offered a rebuttal.

“I don't care who's on what side,” Hearn told reporters. “I don't see how Ortiz is the A side. What makes you the A side? [Ortiz] has never won a world title. Boots has been a [welterweight] world champion and unified the division. I just think they are two great fighters. A side, B side, Z side ... make the fight. Once you start hearing things like that, like the terms have to be right, and we want $10 million. It's like, 'Woah, guys. Do you actually want this fight or not?'”

Ortiz's manager Rick Mirigian wrote on social media for Matchroom not to “send [anything] our way unless it has seven zeroes on it or it won’t even get looked at.”

“The terms have already been agreed in a room,” Hearn said. “If we have to negotiate, we negotiate. But let's not mess the fight up because we are pretending one guy has more than the other. Neither of them have a belt. They are just two of the top guys in the division. For me, we're No. 1, but I'm not standing here going, 'We're the A-side.' I don't care, because all that means is that you don't want the fight. If you truly want the fight, let's get to the table and continue the conversations. Let's give fight fans and DAZN, for me, the best fight in American boxing.”

Mirigian also proposed for Ortiz to next take on Spence, and Ennis to face Jermell Charlo in a doubleheader, with the winners meeting after that. Ortiz stated that his preference was a “dream fight” against Spence at AT&T Stadium in Texas.

Hearn said he’s not worried that Ortiz can pursue all-Texas showdowns against Spence or Charlo, both of whom were also ringside to watch Ortiz’s showstopping performance.

“Spence and Charlo, those guys just want so much money [and they don't fight],” said Hearn. “Style, skills, prime, [Ennis vs. Ortiz] is such a great fight. I don't want to clap back at [De La Hoya’s] comments. Oscar is a great promoter and wants to make great fights. If you truly believe your man will win, let's just make it happen. Both guys are going to go on and have fantastic careers, but this is the kind of fight we need to see in their primes. That's why we are talking now.”

De La Hoya previously declared that Ennis would duck Ortiz after he witnessed a vicious beating of Lubin in person. Instead, Hearn and Ennis are doubling down on trying to make the matchup that first loomed as a possibility last year, a reality once and for all in 2026.