De La Hoya Expects Ortiz To Fight Soon

Oscar De La Hoya believes the Vergil Ortiz Jr. contract dispute is close to resolution — and expects the unbeaten contender to be back in the ring before the year is out.

Ortiz has been sidelined since stopping Erickson Lubin in two rounds last November, with a planned fight against Jaron Ennis falling apart after a disagreement with Golden Boy brought negotiations to a halt. Following legal intervention, the courts barred Ortiz from negotiating with third parties and compelling the case to private arbitration.

De La Hoya addressed the situation with confidence, framing the dispute as an external interference rather than a fundamental breakdown in the relationship between the promoter and the fighter.

"We have the original contract that was in place. Outside people try to ruffle things up, but we have the contracts, we have the relationships, we have Vergil Ortiz. We've had him since he was a baby. We feel that we're very close and Vergil Ortiz will fight this year," De La Hoya

The cost of the dispute extends beyond the legal fees and the months lost. Ortiz is 24-0 with 22 knockouts and has spent years building toward a world title fight that keeps getting deferred by circumstances outside his control. The Ennis fight, had it been made, would have been one of the most compelling junior middleweight matchups available.

For Ortiz, the priority is getting back in the ring. A year of inactivity at 27, when the physical peak of a career should be approaching rather than passing, is time that cannot be recovered. Whatever the arbitration produces, a fight before December keeps the momentum alive and the bigger opportunities within reach.