Ennis vs. Ortiz: Boxing main event in 2026, according to Eddie Hearn

Jaron “Boots” Ennis could face Vergil Ortiz in the first quarter of 2026, as long as he achieves victory in his junior middleweight debut this Saturday, according to promoter Eddie Hearn. Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs), 28 years old, will face Uisma Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) in his first fight at 154 pounds, at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, after having climbed to the top of the welterweight rankings. Following his technical knockout victory in the sixth round over Eimantas Stanionis in April, Ennis seeks to deliver a great performance against Lima, from Angola and based in Portugal, in front of his local fans, to propel himself towards bigger fights. Since the interim WBA title will be at stake, Saturday’s winner will advance to a WBA junior middleweight world title opportunity against Abass Barou (17-1, 9 KOs), from Germany. Hearn is targeting a bigger fight for Boots against Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs), who will defend the WBC interim junior middleweight title against Erickson Lubin on November 8.

“We want the biggest fights after Saturday, and for me the one that makes the most sense and the one that has been negotiated is Vergil Ortiz,” Hearn said.

Eddie Hearn

Hearn expects Ennis to improve at junior middleweight and states that the Philadelphia boxer is willing to face any of the world champions in 2026. Ortiz, from Texas, and WBC junior middleweight world champion Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs), from California, hold the number 1 and 2 positions respectively in the junior middleweight ranking. Hearn believes Ennis could even compete at super middleweight.

Hearn also commented that “The most important thing is to get a chance for a 154-pound world title, and that could come from Xander Zayas, Bakhram Murtazaliev, Sebastian Fundora, WBA champion Abass Baraou or WBC interim champion Vergil Ortiz”. Hearn concluded by saying that Ennis “will be a different animal at 154 pounds, and I don’t know how he made 147. He could easily fight at 168 pounds, and I think middleweight is the division where he will look his best.”