Eddie Hearn has long been trying to organize a fight for Jaron Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) with large prize money, and Virgil Ortiz Jr. (24-0, 22 KOs) remains at the top of his list of desired opponents. Oscar De La Hoya, Ortiz's manager throughout his career, recently deigned to respond to the British promoter.
The "Golden Boy" has long been in a confrontation with the head of Matchroom Boxing, so Hearn will likely have to make an effort to organize this bout, judging by a response from a fellow promoter.
"Eddie, since you are so desperate for this fight to happen, here's what we'll do: we'll split the purse in Virgil's favor at a ratio of 60 to 40, and the winner gets an additional five percent. I'll be quite generous. These figures are non-negotiable. You're the one asking for this, so this is what we'll do. It's foolish for a promoter to focus on just one opponent for their fighter. You lose negotiating power, and that leads to the fighter losing money," De La Hoya said.
"Virgil, on the other hand, has several options. One of them is a fight with Errol Spence at the Dallas stadium. Another is a big fight with Sebastian Fundora for the WBC belt in Las Vegas. Ennis is also in our plans, but he doesn't necessarily have to be next," stated the former champion in six weight classes.
