Jaron Ennis hopes he and rival Vergil Ortiz can, after years of talk, test each other early in 2026.

The former Ring/IBF/WBA welterweight champion isn’t convinced, however, that Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) will win his next fight to ensure they can finalize a deal for one of the most intriguing matchups in boxing. Erickson Lubin is, without a doubt, a much more formidable foe for Ortiz than Uisma Lima was for Ennis on Saturday night at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) needed less than one round to obliterate Lima, but he wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if Lubin beats Ortiz in a 12-round main event DAZN will stream November 8 from Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas.

“It’s a great fight, and I think it’s a 50-50 fight,” Ennis said during his post-fight press conference. “You can’t really sleep on Lubin. Lubin a crafty southpaw. He sharp, he can punch as well, it’s gonna be a great fight. And Vergil will bring the pressure and got a good jab, throw a lotta punches. It’s a great fight for boxing and I think it’s a 50-50 fight.”

Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) has lost only to WBC super welterweight champ Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs) and former undisputed 154-pound champ Jermell Charlo (35-2-1, 19 KOs). The southpaw from Orlando, Florida, defeated Jesus Ramos (23-1, 19 KOs) and Ardreal Holmes (17-1, 6 KOs) in his past two fights and was the IBF’s mandatory challenger for Russian champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) before he accepted a showdown with Ortiz for more money.

Lubin, 30, is 3-0 since his brutal battle with Fundora in April 2022.

Both boxers went down during that “Fight of the Year” candidate in Las Vegas. Lubin led by one point on two scorecards, 85-84 apiece, when his former trainer, Kevin Cunningham, stopped their bout before the 10th round due to severe swelling on face.

Ortiz, 27, a knockout artist from Grand Prairie, Texas, has beaten two top junior middleweights in his most recent fights. His points victories over Uzbekistan’s Israil Madrimov (10-2-1, 7 KOs) and Ukraine’s Serhii Bohachuk (26-3, 24 KOs) helped him earn the No. 1 spot in The Ring’s top 10 in the 154-pound division.

Madrimov is ranked third by The Ring and Bohachuk, who recorded two flash knockdowns on his way to losing a majority decision, is rated 10th. Fundora, Murtazaliev and Lubin are ranked second, fourth and fifth.

Angola’s Lima (14-2, 10 KOs) was not among The Ring’s top 10 entering a blowout in which Ennis sent him to the canvas twice before their scheduled 12-round bout was stopped just 1:58 into it. Ennis won the WBA interim super welterweight title by annihilating Lima, but he remains motivated to become boxing’s fully unified junior middleweight champion.

“We’ll take the [Ortiz-Lubin] winner or the belts,” Ennis said. “I’m trying to be undisputed, collect these belts and shut y’all up, because y’all talk too much.”