Oscar de la Hoya wants to find common ground with Vergil Ortiz and “move on” from their legal entanglement.
The 28-year-old is one of the more highly-regarded fighters in all boxing, despite not yet winning a world championship belt — something he would likely have moved toward had it not been for the legal battle between Ortiz and Golden Boy Promotions.
In January, Ortiz filed a lawsuit to sever ties, claiming his contract expired when Golden Boy’s output deal with DAZN ended in late 2025.
De la Hoya countered by securing a temporary restraining order and a court ruling in March that forced the dispute into arbitration.
Currently, Ortiz is barred from signing with Matchroom to face Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, leaving the undefeated star on the shelf until the legal dust settles. Ennis has since moved toward a big bout of his own, against the unified super welterweight champion Xander Zayas.
While in Las Vegas for his fighter Gilberto ‘Zurdo’ Ramirez’s unified cruiserweight title defense against David Benavidez, de la Hoya held court with reporters and told them at a media event he’s “very happy that our teams are now in communication.”
He said: “Nobody wants to be in litigation, spend money on lawyers. It’s a waste of time.
“I’m looking forward to patching things up with Vergil, and getting his career back on track because I still feel, still have admiration for him. I still believe he’ll be a great world champion and fight the very best.”
The Zayas vs Ennis fight will take place on June 27 at the Barclays Center in Brooklyn, New York. De la Hoya believes the winner would make an ideal opponent for Ortiz in his comeback.
“There’s big fights coming up for him like the winner of Boots vs Zayas,” he said, “and all kinds of fighters he can fight at 160.”
“Me and Vergil will talk things out, patch things on, and then move on,” the 53-year-old finished.
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