Vergil Ortiz Jr. (21-0, 21 KOs) reacted to Jaron Ennis’ stoppage of Xander Zayas (23-1, 13 KOs), by calling the new 154-pound champion out.
Ennis dropped Zayas three times before ultimately stopping him in the 7th round to become the unified junior middleweight champion, thus making him a two-division champion. Follow his victory, Ortiz immediately responded by calling to be Ennis’ first 154-pound title challenge while labeling Zayas, who suffered his first career loss to Ennis, a quitter.
“Yea, I’m sleeping Jaron. If I get him like that I promise you I get him out of there. Xander you looked straight to your corner after you got dropped that last time. You did better than I thought you were gonna do but you’re a quitter. I can’t believe I just saw you do that,” Ortiz
Ortiz has been sidelined since November 2025 following a win over Erickson Lubin, then got caught up in a promotional dispute with Golden Boy that had originally blocked him from fighting Ennis. Oscar De La Hoya has indicated recently that the situation is moving toward a resolution and that Ortiz is expected back in the ring before the end of the year.