The case is stayed pending arbitration, with the parties required to provide a status update by September 2, 2026, or within five days of an arbitrator’s decision. Until that process plays out, Ortiz cannot negotiate with outside promoters.
Ennis, 35-0 with 31 knockouts, moved up to 154 pounds with a first-round stoppage last October in Philadelphia and has already been waiting more than four months for clarity on Ortiz. Matchroom was prepared to go ahead with a reported three-fight, eight-figure deal centered on an April bout on DAZN, but that arrangement has now been put on hold. Eddie Hearn has made it clear that the wait cannot continue indefinitely.
“If we can’t get Vergil Ortiz, then the target we want is Xander Zayas,” Hearn said. “And if we can’t get him, we have another Matchroom fighter – Josh Kelly, who just won the IBF title. That’s another opportunity as well.”
Ennis will move forward regardless. Ortiz’s legal team argued that Golden Boy’s promotional agreement had expired with its previous distribution agreement, but the court centered its ruling on language referring to a continuing “distribution relationship,” a distinction that sent the case to arbitration and preserved Golden Boy’s contractual position.
That ruling keeps Ortiz off the open market while the dispute is resolved and leaves Ennis to decide his next move without him. Arbitration protects Golden Boy’s contractual position while delaying Ennis’ attempt to establish himself in a new division.
