Oscar De La Hoya gleefully posted an emoji showing his fighter, Vergil Ortiz Jr., holding a prized duck with the head of Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis on X today, in a gotcha moment, making one of promoter Eddie Hearn’s best fighters look bad.
Hearn said in interviews last weekend that Ennis wants to stay at 147 to unify the division and that he was concerned with losing his IBF title if he moved up to challenge Vergil for his WBC interim 154-lb strap.
The Price of Avoidance
Fans aren’t buying those excuses from Boots, believing the true reason he doesn’t want to go up is because of the power and toughness of Vergil Jr. They smell fear, and they don’t respect that. Boxing is war, and Ennis shows a fear of entering the battlefield. It’s better to fight and lose than retreat, showing your flank.
Career Over
Ennis’ career may never be seen in the same light after this move, and he may not understand that now. His popularity will likely never recover from this, which is why he needs to accept this fight if there’s still a chance.
This was a dream come true for De La Hoya to kick sand in the fact of his nemesis, Hearn, who had been so high on Boots after signing him to a multi-fight deal earlier this year in April 2024.
After two lackluster fights, Ennis’ stock had dropped with fans, and this latest episode of him choosing not to face Vergil Ortiz Jr. next was icing on the cake. Hearn has got to be mentally kicking himself for having made the mistake of signing Ennis instead of using the money to ink someone else.
Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) chose not to move up to 154 to challenge Vergil (22-0, 21 KOs) for his WBC interim junior middleweight on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s giant February 22nd card in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
What makes it worse is Boots, 27, reportedly would have received a career-high payday to fight Vergil. To turn down the biggest payday of his career suggests that he lacked the self-belief that he could win.
😂😂 @VergilOrtiz pic.twitter.com/1k4wE5I5df
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) December 2, 2024
Name five ducks today.
— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) December 2, 2024
