Statement Win for Vergil Ortiz Jr. – Bring On Boots Ennis

Erickson Lubin entered the ring at the Dickies Center in Fort Worth, Texas, dressed like a matador. It was a fitting choice, because he found himself confronting a bull in Vergil Ortiz. Jr., depicted on his trunks.

In the high-stakes matchup, Ortiz Jr. of Grand Prairie, Texas (24-0, 22 KOs) wasted no time getting his first knockout win in his last three fights, quickly sending number one-ranked contender Lubin of Kissimmee, Florida (27-3, 19 KOs) to the showers at 1:30 of round two.

Lubin had little to challenge Ortiz Jr., who defends his WBC Interim World Super Welterweight title. He never seemed to warm up. In contrast, Ortiz Jr. came out hot from the opening bell, to the point that trainer Robert Garcia cautioned Ortiz Jr. after the first round to take his time and not rush.

Ninety seconds later, the fight was over. Ortiz Jr. backed Lubin into the ropes. Lubin covered up, and Ortiz Jr. went to work. Lubin couldn’t find an escape route, and when Ortiz Jr. landed a series of hard looping right hooks to the temple, Lubin was out cold, held up by the ropes.

OMGGG!!! VERGILLLLL!!!! 😱

Vergil Ortiz Jr. STOPS Erickson Lubin in round 2!#OrtizLubin | Live NOW on DAZN ▪️ pic.twitter.com/zda2DLLelU

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 9, 2025

Give credit to referee James Green, who saw Lubin was in distress and quickly stepped in to end the fight.

Watching from the audience with intense interest, Jaron “Boots” Ennis smiled and tapped his watch as if to say, “It’s time!”

Vergil Ortiz Jr.: “I Capitalized On His Mistakes”

Vergil Ortiz Jr. is ready to challenge all the reigning champions in the super welterweight division, but first he wants his longtime foe Boots Ennis. Photo: Golden Boy Boxing

Asked after the fight to describe his performance, the ever-honest Ortiz Jr. shrugged and said, “There wasn’t much to evaluate. I capitalized on his mistakes,” saying at the same time he fought a smart and defensively responsible fight.

“I’m patient. People think I’m just a come-forward fighter. Yeah, I am a come-forward fighter. I love to fight. That’s why I’m in boxing. But to be a boxer, you have to be smart, too. So, I can be smart when I want to,” explained Ortiz Jr.

“I don’t even know what I did, to be honest. He was already out before I knew it,” said Ortiz Jr.

“This is definitely my prime right now. I’m only going to get better from here.”

While Ortiz Jr. was the favorite to get the win over Lubin, his performance was a stunning statement, staking his claim to the top of the super welterweight division, whether or not he has a championship title.

Boots and Vergil Promise They’ll Fight 

Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. staged their first faceoff after Ortiz Jr.’s win over Erickson Lubin Saturday in Fort Worth, Texas. Photo: Golden Boy Boxing

With the brief fight assessment concluded, Ortiz Jr. called Jaron “Boots” Ennis up into the ring. The two men have reserved personalities, but both were giddy with the excitement of putting on a fight between them. There is no bout both are eager to get it made and get it on in early 2026.

Ennis teed up the match with his own first-round knockout win over an outgunned Uisma Lima three weeks ago in front of his home fans in Philadelphia.

Ennis said later he was glad he was allowed into the ring. “We came to invade Texas and make this fight happen,” said Ennis, who teased Eddie Hearn about handing over the paperwork now.

“The time is now. We’re both in our primes, and I think it’s a bigger fight than six months ago,” said Ennis. “I want to shut everybody up.”

“This is the fight that has to happen, man. I think this is it,” said Ortiz Jr.

“I think he did a great job. He looked good,” said Ennis. “But I’m gonna show the world why I’m the best in the world. I’m gonna show his team. They’ve been talking all crazy. They’ve been talking crazy. And I’m gonna back it up, and I’m gonna show the world I’m the best in the world.”

The pair squabbled a bit about who ducked whom when a rumored match at welterweight fell apart. But it’s all in the past with an exciting super welterweight, all-American showdown ahead in 2026.

Ennis told Ortiz Jr. he had something for him. “You look tremendous, but I’m gonna start a world I got, I got something for you.”

“You got a yes for me?” asked Ortiz Jr.

Fans will now need to ask Sweet Science Santa to deliver this tremendous matchup as a gift boxing fans deserve for being so good, putting up with a lot of nonsense this year.

Undercard Wins For Jones, Edwards, Safar

Middleweight Amari Jones of Las Vegas (15-0, 12 KOs) delivered a sensational knockout win in three rounds over Shady Gamhour of Pensacola (14-3, 9 KOs) as he builds his resume and reputation in his first fight under the Golden Boy Promotions banner.

Jones dropped Gamhour with a hard right hook at the end of a multi-punch combination, including excellent body shots. Gamhour, who is trained by Hall of Famer Roy Jones Jr.,  beat the count, but Jones made good use of the few seconds left in the round to seal the victory with a hard right hook to the temple, and Gamhour’s night was over. The official time is 2:54 of round three.

BAY AREAAA STAND UP!!! 🤩

Amari Jones STOPS Shady Gamhour in the 3rd round!#OrtizLubin | Live NOW on DAZN ▪️ pic.twitter.com/3rhLUd8CDm

— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) November 9, 2025

“I knew he was game, I knew he had a lot of experience, trained by Roy Jones,” explained Jones. When he scored the knockdown, Jones said he felt Gamhour out to be sure it wasn’t just a flash knockdown, then moved forward to seal the win.

Jones landed 46 of 132 punches thrown (35%) against just 11 of 87 punches for Gamhour (13%).

“Oscar says he’s going to make me a star. I’m ready for it,” said Jones.

Joshua Edwards took it to Zeno Vooris, who only lasted three rounds against Edwards’ combination power punching. Photo: Golden Boy Boxing

Heavyweight Joshua Edwards of Houston (5-0, 5 KOs) did what he needed to do against Zeno Vooris of Las Vegas (5-2, 5 KOs), who took the fight on short notice. Edwards’ skills are impressive at this early stage, with good footwork, punch selection, and a heavyweight’s impressive power. Vooris wasn’t much more than a human heavy bag. Vooris suffered a cut from a headbutt at the corner of his right eye in the second round, and as it grew worse, his corner decided his night was done in the third round.

“I give myself a C-plus, I could have let my hands go like my corner was telling me. My corner was telling me I need to keep my hands busier,” said Edwards. “I didn’t want to keep him around, I wanted to get him outta there … I feel good, a win is a win.”

The cruiserweight bout between Robin Safar of Las Vegas and Derick Miller Jr. of Monroe, Michigan, was intended as a ten-round audition with the winner putting himself in position to fight Golden Boy’s WBA World Cruiserweight champion Gilberto “Zurdo” Ramirez in 2026 with an exciting performance.

Although Robin Safar got the win, it was a moral victory for the tough Derick Miller Jr. to make it to the final bell. Photo: Golden Boy Boxing

Safar (19-0, 13 KOs) won the decision with ease over Miller Jr. (18-1, 10 KOs) by a lopsided unanimous decision. Scores were 99-90 twice and 98-91. But Safar was up against a determined Miller Jr., who took Safar’s heaviest power punches and refused to yield.

Safar either became frustrated or decided he wasn’t going to press for a knockout and focus on the win. It might not be enough without a second fight early in 2026 to prove to matchmakers Safar deserves the title shot.

Disappointing Draw in Co-Main Event

Super middleweight Darius Fulghum badly needed a win after his first loss threatened his status as a top division prospect. The best he could do was a draw.

Fulghum of Houston (14-1-1, 12 KOs) ended up in an ugly wrestling match with David Stevens of Reading, Pennsylvania (15-1, 10 KOs), to the point that play-by-play announcer Todd Grisham said it reminded him of his WWE days. The crowd let the fighters know they weren’t too happy with what they were seeing.

Neither fighter seemed happy either while waiting for the scores, and hearing one score of 96-94 Fulghum, with the other two cards even at 95-95, let them know they needed to do better. There’s no reason to run this back, and the less said, the better. Fulghum landed 99 punches, Stevens 97 punches in ten rounds.