At the jam-packed Dickies Arena, the crowd roared when Vergil Ortiz Jr. pummeled Erickson Lubin into total submission. Later their cheers grew louder when Ortiz called in Jaron Ennis. “‘Boots’, come over here,” he said while speaking with Chris Mannix, who promptly asked, “Is this the fight that you want next? Vergil Ortiz against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis?” ‘The Texas Machine’ replied, “I think this is the fight that has to happen, man. I think this is it.”

After months of talks, claims, and counterclaims, it appeared that one of boxing’s most sought-after matchups would finally reach a logical conclusion. But as someone rightly said, ‘This is boxing; anything can happen anytime.’ And that’s exactly what seems to have happened. After building up the hype over the Jaron Ennis fight, Team Vergil Ortiz Jr. now believes other options could be explored. One of the matchups Ortiz Jr. may potentially pursue is against Errol Spence Jr., who was incidentally at the arena last night. One can only imagine the bewilderment that must have swept across a million faces.

Vergil Ortiz switches targets: from Ennis to Spence

Several outlets shared Vergil Ortiz’s latest comments, in which he spoke about a potential fight against the former unified welterweight champion. “If I had to pick, I’m going to be honest, it would be Spence, cuz that’s my dream fight. I’ve been calling it since…AT&T. There you go. At the Cowboys Stadium. And I just think that’s that’s my dream fighting,” said the WBC interim champion.

Perhaps he understood the kind of backlash his statement might attract. So, Vergil Ortiz made it clear that by calling out Spence Jr.’s name, he meant no disrespect to anyone. “I don’t care what anyone says about it. But anyone else, like I said, anyone can get it respectfully,” he said, leaving the playing field open. “I just want to fight the best. It’s just that I’m just a competitive guy.”

The situation is further confounded by the posturing his team took, which only adds to the confusion. Oscar De La Hoya stated, “As long as the negotiations are favorable, we’ll make the fight (with Boots) happen,” later adding, “We can always go to Errol Spence or Fundora.” Comments from Ortiz Jr.’s trainer didn’t help either.

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“He’s the one everyone wants to challenge because we’re the biggest fight for him. We’ve got options. If it’s ‘Boots,’ beautiful, but so are Spence, Charlo, Fundora, and Zayas,” Robert Garcia said.

Too many targets, one Vergil Ortiz Jr.

To set the record straight, Spence Jr.’s name is the only one Vergil Ortiz mentioned. During the post-fight conference, he called out Terence Crawford as well. “I am here to fight the best; I don’t care who it is. It can be ‘Boots’ next, it can be Spence next, it could be Crawford next if he still wants to do it.”

To give the 27-year-old interim champion the benefit of the doubt, even last year he spoke about a matchup against Errol Spence Jr. at the historic Cowboys Stadium.

However, for such comments to come at a stage when everything seemed to be going in the right direction might have been a major disappointment for many fans. Everyone, including pundits and experts, wants to see Vergil Ortiz vs. Jaron Ennis.

Both fighters are in their prime, have registered thumping victories, and hold interim belts. What more could anyone ask for? But as always, boxing’s business and where money is involved, politics seem to gain the upper hand. What fans want may not be what they ultimately get.

For now, fans can only hope the fight with Boots goes through. But don’t rule out Spence Jr., who hasn’t fought since his July 2023 loss to Bud Crawford.

What are your thoughts on this new twist in the ‘Boots’-Ortiz saga?