Ortiz vs. Ennis Collapse Alters Planned Stacked Feb. 22 Card in Riyadh

Many including Big Fight Weekend were looking forward to the much-rumoured bout between Vergil Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) vs. Jaron “Boots” Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) with both sides agreeing to the fight. It was set to be a key part of a stacked Riyadh Season event on Feb. 22 in Riyadh. However, as reported by Dan Rafael via his Fight Freaks Unite Substack, the proposed bout has collapsed, leaving organisers requiring a new opponent to face Ortiz.

Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Jaron Ennis Falls Through

Why Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Jaron Ennis Collapsed

This can’t-miss fight between Ennis and Ortiz is now off the table, with Sampson Lewkowicz, Sebastian Fundora’s promoter revealing they had already heard from the Saudis about stepping in, but team Fundora turned down the fight as they already have other plans in motion.

Read More: Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Jaron Ennis: Eric Gomez Confirms Talks for Riyadh Clash

Despite the fight not being officially signed – it had been reported by many that both teams had agreed to the contest. Despite this agreement – it appears they were not on the same page regarding the weight limit. Once Golden Boy received the paperwork for the fight, a source revealed to FFU that they then identified the contest was planned to be for Ennis’ 147-pound crown. It was confirmed to Team Ortiz that Matchroom had asked for it to be at welterweight, which ended the fight before it was even confirmed, with the Texan fighter having struggled to make the weight badly in the past, causing him to miss a mandatory shot against WBA title holder Eimantas Stanionis in July 2023.

Surprising Development

When looking at the situation it’s difficult to understand why this fight won’t take place at 154 pounds. Since Ortiz has recovered from his health problems he has looked much more comfortable at super welterweight. The move up in weight saw him gain an entertaining win over Serheii Bohachuk for the WBC interim title.

Ennis successfully defended his IBF welterweight last time out. He overcame some difficulties to defeat Karen Chukhadzhian in their rematch. Following this win, it seemed that victory could be the last for “Boots” at 147, with the IBF champ saying: “My performance was OK.”

Read More: Terence Crawford vs. Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis: Eddie Hearn Reveals What it Would Take

He continued: “I don’t know, man. I think it might be time to go to 154. I felt good, but I feel at 154 I’m going to be way better and my pop will be how it’s supposed to be.”

Eddie Hearn also said: “I’ve noticed this week he’s been much tighter at 147. Perhaps it is time to move o 154. It’s very difficult to do it when you want to win belts and you hold a world championship. But also if it’s affecting your performance you have to move up.”

Fundora Has Other Plans

With the “Boots” fight off, attention turned to Fundora, but that was also a no go, with Lewkowicz revealing: “We have other plans for Fundora and we will not change,” Lewkowicz said. “So, definitely doesn’t happen. We have other plans. We didn’t talk about money because money is not everything. Sebastian Fundora’s plan is already written and we will not accept any offer.”

Even with the loss of Ennis-Ortiz, the Feb 22 card is set to be a memorable event, with rumoured fights set to be:

Daniel Dubois vs. Joseph Parker

Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol II

Carlos Adames vs. Hamzah Sheeraz

Zhilei Zhang vs. Agit Kabayel