What could have been a blockbuster junior middleweight clash between Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Xander Zayas appears to have unraveled prompting Oscar De La Hoya to step in and publicly vent his frustration. The Hall of Fame six-division champion and chairman of Golden Boy Promotions revealed he had to “stop his golf” at Pebble Beach to respond after Zayas posted private conversations between Top Rank’s Carl Moretti and Golden Boy’s Eric Gomez on social media.
Ortiz-Zayas Talks Break Down
Golden Boy and Top Rank were negotiating a December DAZN pay-per-view main event targeted for Las Vegas or Southern California that would pit Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs), the WBC interim 154-pound titlist, against Puerto Rico’s newly crowned WBO junior middleweight champion Zayas (22-0, 13 KOs).
Both sides initially showed interest in making the fight, but Zayas publicly criticized the proposal by sharing part of the correspondence, sparking backlash online.
De La Hoya, who has pushed to land Ortiz a marquee fight after his wins over Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov, wasted no time hitting back.
De La Hoya Blasts Zayas and Top Rank
“Boxing right now is just stale, especially here in America. Fighters don’t want to fight each other. Perfect example, Xander Zayas,” De La Hoya said in an Instagram video.
“We have a perfect fight for you on a silver platter. Pay-per-view. Let’s do it from Las Vegas. You keep saying you want to go to Puerto Rico? How? Your promoter has no TV platform whatsoever. Where are you gonna fight, f—ing OnlyFans?”
The jab was a reference to Top Rank’s recent split with ESPN, which ended their eight-year broadcast deal. Zayas headlined the final Top Rank on ESPN card in July, where he outpointed Jorge Garcia at Madison Square Garden Theater to win the WBO title.
High Stakes for Both Fighters
For Ortiz, a unification bout with Zayas offered the chance to move beyond interim status after missing out on a fight with WBC champion Sebastian Fundora, who instead faces Keith Thurman on October 25.
Zayas, meanwhile, was looking to capitalize on his breakout win and planned to return in December whether in a unification fight or another major event. A Mexico vs. Puerto Rico headliner with Ortiz fit the bill perfectly, at least on paper.
De La Hoya Doesn’t Hold Back
In his video rant, De La Hoya urged Zayas to accept what he described as a can’t-miss opportunity.
“Dude, we have DAZN. We have the pay-per-view. We have the date you and Vergil, Mexico and Puerto Rico, it’s huge. What are you waiting for?”
“This era right here I cannot wait for this era to finish; only the fighters that don’t want to fight and who are literally pussies. They want to do it for extra millions and this and that. No, let’s be real here. PPV, DAZN, Vergil Ortiz, Xander Zayas. Let’s do it, Las Vegas. What are you waiting for?”
What’s Next?
With talks at a standstill, Ortiz will likely turn elsewhere for his next fight. His February win over Madrimov in Saudi Arabia demonstrated his readiness for elite competition, but a unification with Zayas may now be off the table at least for the near future.
For Zayas, the challenge will be finding a platform and opponent worthy of his new title reign as Top Rank navigates its post ESPN future.
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Robert LaMar is a writer for Dice City Sports. You can follow him on X via @RobertLaMar26
