Oscar De La Hoya seems unable to escape legal battles with his own fighters. Canelo Alvarez famously sued his way out of a promotional agreement with Golden Boy Promotions in 2020. Now, Vergil Ortiz Jr. appears to be following a similar path—right down to hiring the same attorney, Gregory M. Smith, who represented Canelo in his lawsuit against De La Hoya’s company.

On Thursday, a lawsuit was filed on Ortiz’s behalf in a U.S. District Court in Nevada, seeking the termination of his contract with Oscar’s Golden Boy Promotions. Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Oscar De La Hoya started working together in 2016, and extended their agreement for three years in May 2024. However, the relationship has reportedly deteriorated, prompting Ortiz to pursue legal action. 

According to the filing, Ortiz’s attorney outlines several legal grounds for seeking separation, including declaratory relief, breach of contract, and interference with prospective economic advantage. At the heart of the dispute is Ortiz’s desire to secure a high-profile bout against Jaron “Boots” Ennis—a fight he believes has been repeatedly stalled.

Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, has publicly criticized De La Hoya for his handling of negotiations with Ennis, a situation that reportedly escalated to the point where De La Hoya threatened legal action against Mirigian after he encouraged other promoters to work with Ortiz. In the lawsuit, Ortiz also points to De La Hoya’s strained relationships with rival promoters and with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh. 

They argue that these tensions have effectively blocked Golden Boy from finalizing the Ennis fight. Still, Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, has stated on multiple occasions that a verbal agreement existed between DAZN and Golden Boy to make the Ortiz–Ennis bout. However, with Golden Boy’s partnership with DAZN officially ending on December 31, the lawsuit contends that the dissolution of that deal should grant Ortiz the right to void his promotional contract.

Golden Boy, for its part, maintains that it is negotiating a new content agreement with DAZN for 2026 and 2027, which it argues would allow the company to retain Ortiz for the remainder of his three-year deal. The complication, however, is that DAZN has reportedly made its stance clear: it will not accept any alternative matchup for Ortiz Jr. other than a fight with Ennis. Regardless, since the lawsuit, other people have also spoken about the lawsuit.

Oscar De La Hoya responds to the lawsuit from Vergil Ortiz Jr.

This Friday, Oscar De La Hoya responded to Vergil Ortiz Jr.’s lawsuit. “Whoever’s going to interfere with our existing contract with Vergil Ortiz, we will take aggressive action against you,” De La Hoya said on Instagram. “He is not a free agent. And we will prove that.” De La Hoya accused Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, of disrupting negotiations and pushing a false narrative surrounding Ortiz’s contractual status. 

He expressed disbelief at the lawsuit, noting that Ortiz had publicly praised Golden Boy just months earlier. “This is the same Vergil who told Ring Magazine two months ago that he couldn’t be happier at Golden Boy. So what happened since then?” De La Hoya said. The Golden Boy founder maintained that his company was working to maximize Ortiz’s earning potential, including a proposed split favorable to the fighter, and suggested the lawsuit was strategically motivated.

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“It’s unfortunate that anyone can choose to file a lawsuit in America without basis or facts—simply for the optics,” De La Hoya added.

It appears Oscar De La Hoya has found himself in a pickle again. Not to mention, he even had issues with Ryan Garcia at several points. Do you think the problem is Oscar or the fighters?