Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. were supposed to fight in February, but the encounter experienced a false start at the finish line once the weight limit had to be finalized.

It was assumed the matchup would be contested at the junior middleweight limit, but Ennis insisted that he still had some unfinished business as a welterweight and went on to face Eimantas Stanionis in April, stopping the Lithuanian to become The Ring, WBA, and IBF champion.

Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) has since moved on from 147 pounds and is all-in as a 154-pounder. The development is music to the ears of the WBC interim junior middleweight champion Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) and everyone else in his team.

“We're putting our fall schedule together. We love being on DAZN and having a great, full schedule. It's Vergil Ortiz's next time around. We want to put him in against a monster,” Ortiz promoter and Golden Boy chief Oscar De La Hoya said on DAZN.

“He's ready for everybody. Vergil Ortiz is Golden Boy's next star. We believe in him 1,000 percent. We're looking at getting him back in October against someone in the top five. He will be back very soon.”

In March, De La Hoya told The Ring that he wanted to be careful not to burn out Ortiz following two tough fights in a row against Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov. Ortiz underwent right-hand surgery after beating Madrimov in February and was knocked down twice during a war and a disputed majority decision win against Bohachuk in 2024.

“[February] can be [a reasonable timeline for the Ennis fight],” said De La Hoya. “That fight is inevitable. Boots and Vergil is going to happen and I cannot wait. I believe Boots is a tremendous boxer and puncher. He's got the ring IQ and confidence. He's a star. But when Vergil Ortiz is in front, there is nowhere to hide. It's going to happen soon.”