Vergil Ortiz Jr Sues Oscar De La Hoya's Golden Boy Promotions

For the entire last few months, Oscar De La Hoya has been taking aim at Jaron 'Boots' Ennis for his failure to sign a bout agreement with Vergil Ortiz Jr.

Now, it's Ortiz Jr who has suddenly pulled a 180 to butt heads with his own promoter.

Within days of Golden Boy Promotions' exclusive streaming rights deal with DAZN Boxing coming to an end, Ortiz's team has used that recent development to file a lawsuit against the promotion. The 27-year-old is looking to break free from his current contract on the grounds of breach of contract and interference with prospective economic advantage, according to a copy of the lawsuit. shared by Dan Rafael.

BREAKING: Perhaps no Ortiz-Ennis fight but here we go with Ortiz-Golden Boy. Ortiz sues for breach of contract, etc. Going to get ugly. I have a copy of the 32-page suit. Vergil has terminated his GB contract. Should make for interesting reading. #boxing pic.twitter.com/aj0URGLyMe
— Dan Rafael (@DanRafael1) January 16, 2026

Ortiz has been with Golden Boy for the duration of his nine-year-long professional career. He inked a three-year extension to remain with the promotion in 2024.

Ortiz is one of De La Hoya's biggest stars, but there has been increasing tension between the sides building for months. De La Hoya accused Ortiz's manager, Rick Mirigian, of working with other promoters while attempting to secure the Ennis fight.

De La Hoya and Mirigian could also not agree on a commission split, with both sides believing they deserved the lion's share of the revenue that a potential Ennis vs. Ortiz event would generate.

Details of Vergil Ortiz Jr.'s lawsuit against Golden Boy Promotions

Oscar De La Hoya speaks about boxer Jamie Munguia (center) about the Munguia v Ryder main event during a press conference for Golden Boy boxing event on Jan. 25, 2024. | Patrick Breen / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the lawsuit, Ortiz's team claimed that De La Hoya's brash personality has prevented their fighter from pursuing lucrative opportunities. Specifically, the Texas native claimed that his promoter's strained relationship with Turki Alalshikh put a significant hurdle in his negotiations with Ennis, per The Ring.

De La Hoya's fierce rivalry with Hearn does not help either, Ortiz's suit claims. But nothing is more important in the current state of boxing than getting on Alalshikh's good side, with the Saudi adviser currently holding all the power in the sport.

Given the barriers De La Hoya presents, Ortiz's team argues that their fighter cannot advance as far as he should in his career. 'The Texas Machine' is the current WBC interim super welterweight champion, a belt he has held since August 2024, while his first world title shot continues to elude him.

Ortiz is coming off a second-round TKO win over Erickson Lubin in his second defense of the WBC interim 154-pound belt. The win was supposed to lead into negotiations with Ennis' team, which is where Ortiz and his manager claim De La Hoya interfered.

The Latest Boxing News

U.S. Postal Service Releases Stamps Honoring Muhammad Ali

Boxer Amanda Serrano Offers To Replace Injured Fighter At UFC 324

How To Watch Teofimo Lopez vs Shakur Stevenson: Date, Start Time, Fight Card & Live Stream

Former World Champion Calls Out Manny Pacquiao