It was a handshake deal—not agreed with ink, but with words. It seems it has fallen apart, and Vergil Ortiz Jr. is robbed of a fight with Jaron Ennis. The plan was clear: ‘Boots’ moves up to 154 and challenges for the WBC interim belt to secure bigger fights with heavy paychecks. But he has backtracked now, and Rick Mirigian has disclosed the narrative.

Ennis, 27, was mulling over whether to unify the titles or move up after he defeated Karen Chukhadzhian. Eddie Hearn, his promoter, floated the idea of moving up, as the other champions at 147 seemingly had cold feet. However, it didn’t turn out that way, and Matchroom Boxing has now shunned the fight. It didn’t sit well with Mirigian, Ortiz Jr.’s promoter.

Mirigian turned to his Instagram handle and addressed the situation. The promoter wrote, “@jaronennis you said you wanted @vergilortiz at 154 about 22 times, your father said you guys made us an offer and we rejected it on video 2 weeks ago which as we all know is not true and someone had to lie to him.”

Following this, Mirigian took a dig at Ennis, at 33-0, as he believed rational senses dawned on the latter and pointed out how Ortiz Jr. could be a tough fight for him. He continued, “It’s ok if you changed your mind and realized that @vergilortiz is to strong, to fast, to big and to skilled now.” Notably, Ortiz Jr., 26, has a KO ratio of 95.45% and has won all but one fight with KO.

So, Mirigian has expressed his frustration at the situation as his fighter could not bag the fight with Ennis, as initially agreed. But where does it leave Ennis? What are the Philadelphia native’s plans?

Jaron Ennis: stressing over whether to let go of gold

Hearn, 45, in a conversation with Boxing News, revealed how they were still chalking out a perfect path for Ennis. There are two options: move up to 154, where Ortiz Jr. is a viable option, or hang around at 147 and try to unify titles next. He said, “We’re happy to move to 154. But we just have to get our ducks in the row about the championship at 147. Can we unify in February or March, or do we just let the [IBF] belt go and make or move?”

While the Ortiz Jr. fight allowed the IBF champion’s career a fresh breeze of life, the risk of losing is also high. Meanwhile, Ennis could have an easy life at 147, but with no big fight and no big payouts, as the likes of Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. have moved up, and the division is already crowded with A-listers. It remains to be seen what Ennis and Hearn decided upon. But one thing is sure: they surely have irked Ortiz Jr.’s team.

What do you make of this hypothetical fight between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Jaron Ennis? Do you think this fight will go through now? Let us know in the comments below.