Ennis vs. Ortiz: 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 secures victory in his super welterweight 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 reached the top of the welterweight rankings. Following his TKO victory in the sixth round over Eimantas Stanionis in April, Ennis seeks to deliver a great performance against the little-known 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 on the line, Saturday’s winner will advance to challenge for the WBA super welterweight world title against Abass Barou (17-1, 9 KOs), from Germany. Hearn has his sights set on a bigger fight for “Boots” against Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs), who will defend the WBC interim super welterweight 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.

Eddie Hearn

Hearn expects Ennis to perform better at super welterweight and states that the Philadelphia boxer is willing to face any of the world champions in 2026. Ortiz, from Texas, and WBC super welterweight world champion Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs), from California, hold the number 1 and 2 spots respectively in the super welterweight rankings. Hearn believes that Ennis will only be passing through the super welterweight division and could even compete at super middleweight.

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis could face Vergil Ortiz in 2026.Hearn also commented that the priority is to get a chance at the 154-pound world title, which could be against Xander Zayas, Bakhram Murtazaliev, Sebastian Fundora, Abass Baraou, or Vergil Ortiz. The promoter predicts that Ennis will be a different boxer at 154 pounds, and that he could easily compete at 168 pounds. Hearn considers Ennis to be the future number one pound-for-pound in the sport and the natural successor to Terence Crawford. Hearn also pointed out that Ennis felt drained at 147 pounds, but was still a phenomenal boxer. And that he hopes Ennis will compete in other divisions.