BOXING star Vergil Ortiz has been blocked from fighting Jaron Ennis by his OWN promoter after losing a court case.
In January, Ortiz filed a lawsuit against Oscar de la Hoya’s Golden Boy Promotions – seeking to end their relationship.
The American had signed a three-year agreement with Golden Boy in May 2024 – but only if the company retained their distribution deal with DAZN.
Golden Boy’s formal contract with DAZN expired on December 31 – with Ortiz believing he had grounds to terminate his contract and become a free agent.
But Golden Boy argued that despite the expiration of the DAZN contract, it maintained an active distribution relationship with the broadcaster.
They pointed to a Golden Boy event that aired on DAZN in January and one that is scheduled to stream in March as evidence that the relationship had not truly ended.
Ortiz was in negotiations with Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing for a multi-fight deal – including a spring showdown against Ennis.
But those plans were halted after Golden Boy were granted a temporary restraining order (TRO) against Ortiz that prevented any talks with other promoters.
A February 20 hearing followed where both sides appeared before Judge Cristina D. Silva to argue whether the case should head to arbitration or whether Ortiz should be allowed to proceed with his career in the interim.
Ortiz did file an emergency motion with the court requesting confirmation that the 14-day TRO granted by Judge Silva had expired.
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There’s a massive year of boxing ahead!
It’s shaping up to be a blockbuster year of action inside the boxing ring.
Tyson Fury will make his return in April against Arslanbek Makhmudov while Oleksandr Usyk takes on the king of kickboxing Rico Verhoeven.
Conor Benn features for the first time since making the switch to Zuffa Boxing and Fabio Wardley will defend his newly won heavyweight crown.
Canelo Alvarez will be hoping to return after his defeat to Terence Crawford and heavyweight king Oleksandr Usyk will also need to defend his straps.
Derek Chisora will fight for the 50th and (perhaps) final time against Deontay Wilder while Daniel Dubois is also on the comeback trail.
A whole bunch of British stars could also take a leap into superstardom, with the likes of Moses Itauma, Hamzah Sheeraz and Adam Azim ready to join the very top of the sport.
Here’s all the big fights coming up…
March
- Sat 14 – Jazza Dickens vs Anthony Cacace – WBA super-featherweight title – DAZN
- Sat 21 – George Liddard vs Tyler Denny – British & Commonwealth Middleweight title – DAZN
- Sat 28 – Moses Itauma vs Jermaine Franklin – DAZN
- Sat 28 – Sebastian Fundora vs Keith Thurman – Amazon Prime PPV
April
- Sat 4 – Deontay Wilder vs Derek Chisora – DAZN PPV
- Sun 5 – Caroline Dubois vs Terri Harper – Sky Sports
- Sat 11 – Tyson Fury vs Arslanbek Makhmudov – Netflix
- Sat 11 – Conor Benn vs Regis Prograis – Netflix
- Sat 18 – Callum Smith vs David Morrell – DAZN
- Sat 18 – Manny Pacquiao vs Ruslan Provodnikov
- Sat 25 – Mike Tyson vs Floyd Mayweather
- Sat 25 – Lawrence Okolie vs Tony Yoka – DAZN
May
- Sat 9 – Fabio Wardley vs Daniel Dubois – WBO title – DAZN
- Sat 9 – Zurdo Ramirez vs David Benavidez – WBA & WBO Cruiserweight titles – Prime Video
- Sat 23 – Oleksandr Usyk vs Rico Verhoeven – WBC title – DAZN
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Silva confirmed that the TRO had expired but Ortiz was NOT free to negotiate elsewhere because of a fresh injunction granted by the court.
Eventually, Silva ruled that the legal battle will now head to arbitration where Golden Boy and Ortiz will look to settle the matter.
“I hereby order that Ortiz may not negotiate or contract with third parties for future fights before the arbitrator addresses the parties’ dispute set forth in this action,” the judge ruled.
The judge asked that the arbitrator helps settle the matter by September 2 – leaving Ortiz’s future and next fight in doubt.
But it leaves the mega-bout between Ortiz, 27, and Ennis, 28, unlikely.
