Keith Thurman Emerges As Ortiz's Likely Opponent

Golden Boy is pushing to get Vergil Ortiz Jr. back in the ring on the December 12 David Benavidez show, with Keith Thurman now the name in play as a fight with Jaron Ennis continues to slip away. Nothing has been signed.

"That's the talk, to fight him on the Benavidez card, which would be awesome. Imagine Benavidez and Vergil Ortiz. … We're working out things with Keith Thurman. It's not the opponent yet because things are being worked out," De La Hoya

Oscar De La Hoya admitted Thurman was a fallback rather than the target: "I wish it would have been the Boots fight, but look, we can't keep our fighter idle for so long," De La Hoya

His reasoning is simple: Ennis is lining up Josh Kelly and Sebastian Fundora has another challenger, so Ortiz can't afford to wait. Golden Boy sees Thurman as a live enough opponent to keep him active in the meantime.