A major hearing Friday will determine the fate of Vergil Ortiz Jr.’s highly anticipated game against Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
Ortiz’s promoter, Golden Boy Promotions (GBP), successfully obtained an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO) on Friday, which prohibits Ortiz from entering into third-party promotions or boxing contracts until further court order, and even explicitly states that the fight being negotiated between Ortiz and Ennis cannot proceed. Ortiz opposed the pound’s TRO in writing on Tuesday.
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Ortiz originally filed a legal challenge against Golden Boy on January 16. Part of the complaint asks a Nevada court to affirm by way of declaratory relief that his contract with Golden Boy has been terminated because Golden Boy no longer has an exclusive media rights agreement with DAZN – a material incentive for Ortiz’s promotional contract. Golden Boy’s attorney, Richard P. Cestero, argued that Ortiz is not a free agent because although Golden Boy’s contract with DAZN has not yet been renewed, the parties have agreed on the substantive terms of the extension and are finalizing a long-term agreement.
According to court documents obtained by Uncrown, Ortiz’s attorneys will argue at Friday’s hearing that presiding judge Christine D. Silva should ultimately deny Golden Boy’s motion and vacate the TRO because, among other reasons, Golden Boy cannot prove that it would suffer any irreparable harm if Ortiz was allowed to compete while the lawsuit is ongoing.
Golden Boy attorneys argued in their TRO motion that DAZN would not renew the media rights agreement if Ortiz was allowed to continue competing with Ennis without their involvement. However, according to a statement signed by DAZN COO Ed McCarthy, this is not the case.
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“Regardless of whether GBP enters into a contract with Mr. Ortiz, DAZN remains willing to pursue a long-term distribution agreement with GBP on commercially reasonable terms,” ​​McCarthy said.
Additionally, McCarthy appeared to take issue with Cestero’s assertion that the substantive terms of a long-term broadcast deal between Golden Boy and DAZN have been agreed upon. McCarthy said the substantive provisions were “going well”.
“The PRA contains a clause requiring GBP to co-operate in good faith with other promoters where necessary to negotiate with VO’s preferred opponents and allowing VO’s representatives to negotiate directly with other promoters. The clause also requires GBP to fully disclose the terms of any written offer and requires VO to sign any agreement relating to his competition, thereby preventing GBP from participating in negotiations behind VO.”
Ortiz, for his part, claimed that Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya was unable to maximize his revenue opportunities because of his inability to work in good faith with Turki Alasheh. Al-Alasheh is currently the main financial backer of most top-tier boxing events, and some believe De La Hoya’s criticism of the Saudi financier’s new venture, Zuffa Boxing, via his Instagram series “Thursday Clap” has hurt Ortiz’s profitability.
Turki Alalshikh (left) is currently the biggest financier in boxing.
(Chris Unger via Getty Images)
Ortiz’s contract also required Golden Boy to provide him with three potential opponents for any fights, but his manager Rick Mirigian was allegedly told in a meeting with Golden Boy that if they did not accept the promoter’s offer to fight Ennis, Ortiz would be “benched” and not participate in any other fights.
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An agreement on the terms of the Ortiz-Ennis fight was reached at a meeting between Golden Boy, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom and DAZN. According to Ortiz’s attorney, Greg Smith, Ortiz’s contract stipulated that Golden Boy must submit terms agreement documents to Ortiz, but they failed to do so, thus violating their agreement with the boxer.
Smith said the court’s temporary restraining order prevented Ortiz from signing a lucrative promotional deal.
“Matchroom Boxing has offered Ortiz a three-fight deal that includes the April 18, 2026 fight against Mr. Ennis mentioned in the GBP motion. While VO’s exact compensation under the offer is subject to the outcome and financial performance of the fights, VO will receive a minimum of Twelve Million Dollars ($12,000,000). However, given Matchroom’s projections of the economics of the fights on offer, it is likely that VO Earnings over the three games will be close to $20 million ($20,000,000).
Another promoter also offered VO another three-fight contract, guaranteeing him $US16 million ($16,000,000), plus proceeds based on fight ticket and pay-per-view sales. But for the court to issue a TRO on February 13, 2026, one of the agreements may have already been signed. “
Golden Boy sent a cease-and-desist letter to Matchroom on Jan. 16, threatening legal action if Matchroom sought to sign a deal with Ortiz. The promoter also sued Ortiz’s manager, Mirijian, accusing him of contract interference and interference with anticipated financial advantage.
Smith will ask the court on Friday to dissolve the emergency TRO and reject any further interim relief from the pound. If his argument proves successful and the TRO is lifted, Ortiz is likely to have a match with Ennis on the Matchroom-promoted show on April 18, with Uncrown understanding that the announcement is still days away before GBP gets the TRO.
