"DAZN has been in the U.S. market since 2018. Since that time Golden Boy Promotions (“GBP”) has been a party to a series of exclusive distribution agreements with DAZN, wherein DAZN had the right to be the sole broadcaster of boxing events promoted by GBP in the United States. As part of these agreements, DAZN provided GBP with an annual budget for events to be agreed and aired pursuant to the terms of the relevant long-term distribution agreement. Notably, GBP was not DAZN’s sole provider of boxing events. The various agreements between GBP and DAZN did not restrict DAZN from airing events from other promoters. DAZN has [also] worked with a number of other promoters, including Matchroom Boxing, Queensberry Promotions, Misfits Boxing and Most Valuable Promotions.
"DAZN’s most recent long-term distribution contract with GBP expired on December 31, 2025, despite DAZN’s offer to extend such long-term distribution contract, whilst the new long-term agreement was finalized and agreed. Since January 1, 2026, there has not been a long-term broadcast distribution relationship between DAZN and GBP, although DAZN aired a GBP-promoted event on January 16th and has contracted to distribute a show on March 14th. These events are 'one off' shows and the parties had and have no commitments to each other beyond those specific events. In the agreement, dated February 17th to broadcast the March 14th event, both DAZN and GBP acknowledged and confirmed this fact.
"Beginning in late 2025, through the present, GBP and DAZN have been discussing terms for a new contract under which the parties could continue their long-term broadcast distribution relationship. To date, GBP and DAZN have not agreed on final terms for such long-term broadcast distribution, although material terms and drafts were well progressed. No contract has been formally agreed, approved or signed by the parties. DAZN is aware that, following the filing of proceedings by Mr. Ortiz against GBP and immediately prior to the recent Court Order, Ortiz was negotiating, and close to executing, an agreement with Matchroom Boxing to fight Ennis on April 18th in an event to air on DAZN. DAZN remains open to seeking to agree and enter into a long-term distribution agreement with GBP on commercially reasonable terms, whether or not GBP has Mr. Ortiz under contract."
FEB. 16, 2026: Over the weekend, Eric Gomez, the president of Golden Boy Promotions, submitted a legal declaration in his company's federal lawsuit against Vergil Ortiz, Jr., the star junior middleweight who is seeking to end his promotional contract with Golden Boy and sign for a huge fight against former welterweight champion Jaron Ennis. Here is what Gomez declared: "Notwithstanding Golden Boy’s ongoing [legal] dispute with Ortiz, Golden Boy remains ready and willing to represent Ortiz in negotiating for and promoting a bout between Ortiz and Ennis. Even after Golden Boy discovered that Ortiz’s manager, Rick Mirigian, was having direct communications with third parties regarding the fight, Golden Boy remained committed to its representation of Ortiz with respect to the fight. In early January 2026, I exchanged emails with Mirigian articulating Golden Boy’s negotiation position. Also in early January, Golden Boy’s counsel, Ricardo P. Cestero, sent a letter to Ortiz’s counsel, Gregory M. Smith, confirming that Golden Boy offered Ortiz a $3 million guarantee plus upside for the Ennis fight."
FEB. 14, 2026: On Friday, a federal judge temporarily restrained Vergil Ortiz Jr. from negotiating or signing any deal for a fight with former welterweight champion Jaron Ennis, granting an emergency restraining order requested by Golden Boy Promotions. The ruling, issued February 13th in federal court in Nevada, freezes Ortiz’s ability to contract with third parties for the Ennis bout while a contract dispute plays out between Golden Boy and Ortiz. The next court hearing is scheduled for February 20th, when both sides will appear for oral arguments. For boxing fans, the decision immediately puts one of the most anticipated potential matchups in the welterweight division on ice. Until the court or an arbitrator says otherwise, Ortiz is barred from making any independent deal for the Ennis fight, keeping control of his next move firmly tied to the legal battle with Golden Boy, his longtime promoter.
Ortiz is the WBC interim champion at 154 pounds. He is one of the sport’s top undefeated contenders and has been promoted by Golden Boy since 2016. In May 2024, the two sides signed a new promotional rights agreement that was supposed to run for three years, with guaranteed minimum payments of more than $1 million per fight. At the center of the dispute is a clause tied to Golden Boy’s broadcast relationship with DAZN. That contract with DAZN expired at the end of 2025. Under the terms of Ortiz’s deal, he could terminate his agreement with Golden Boy if the promoter no longer had a distribution deal with DAZN—unless Golden Boy already had an “agreement in principle” in place with another broadcaster, or had agreed on all material terms of a new deal and was finalizing paperwork.
Ortiz sent a letter in early January seeking confirmation that the DAZN deal had ended, signaling his intent to terminate his contract. Golden Boy responded that while the formal contract had expired, the company and DAZN had already agreed on the key terms of a new licensing deal for 2026 and 2027 and were exchanging drafts. On that basis, Golden Boy argued Ortiz had no right to walk away.
Ortiz then filed suit, asking the court to declare the contract over. He also accused Golden Boy of breach of contract and interference with his business opportunities. Among Ortiz's claims: that the company undercut chances to maximize his earnings through Saudi-backed sponsorships and interfered with his ability to negotiate future fights. His complaint also points to public statements and actions by Golden Boy head Oscar De La Hoya, which Ortiz says confused other promoters and the boxing public about who controlled his career.
Golden Boy answered with an emergency motion, telling the court it had learned Ortiz was on the verge of signing a deal with third parties for a fight against Ennis. The company argued that such a move would violate the existing contract and cause irreparable harm—especially by damaging broadcast negotiations and business relationships that cannot simply be repaired with money later. The judge agreed with Golden Boy and granted the temporary restraining order, barring Ortiz, his managers, and representatives from negotiating or entering into any third-party contracts for the Ennis bout. The court emphasized that the order is meant to preserve the “status quo” while the dispute is resolved.
Legally, the case is also complicated by an arbitration clause in the contract that staes that any disputes should be handled through arbitration in Las Vegas. Golden Boy has already started arbitration proceedings, accusing Ortiz of breaching the agreement and interfering with its broadcast relationships. The court made clear that the restraining order does not decide who is right—it simply prevents irreversible business moves before arbitration and further court hearings take place.
From a boxing standpoint, the impact is immediate. Ortiz vs. Ennis is widely viewed as one of the most meaningful fights available in the division—a matchup of two elite, undefeated fighters in their prime. The ruling doesn’t kill the fight, but it removes Ortiz’s ability to make it happen independently. For now, the business has overtaken the sport. The February 20th court date will be the next step in deciding whether this freeze continues or changes, but until then, Ortiz’s future—and the Ennis fight—remains locked in a courtroom rather than a ring.
JAN. 19, 2026: WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. has taken his long-time promoter, Golden Boy Promotions, to federal court—claiming that behind-the-scenes chaos, missed opportunities and public blowups derailed his momentum at a critical moment in his career. The lawsuit was filed in Nevada. At the center of the dispute is Ortiz’s promotional agreement with Golden Boy, which he signed in May 2024. The deal extended Golden Boy’s rights for three years, guaranteed Ortiz million-dollar minimum purses, and was built around Golden Boy’s long-term broadcast relationship with DAZN. Here are the key allegations contained in Ortiz's legal complaint, which at this time are treated as unproven allegations:
Ortiz alleges Golden Boy's relatinship with DAZN was a key reason he stayed with Golden Boy in the first place. Fast forward to the end of 2025. Golden Boy’s DAZN deal expired on December 31st, and Ortiz moved quickly. On January 8, 2026, he exercised a clause in his contract allowing him to walk away if Golden Boy lost its exclusive broadcaster. Golden Boy acknowledged that the DAZN deal had ended (this weekend's DAZN show was a one-off with Golden Boy, not part of any long-term deal). Golden Boy took the position that ongoing negotiations for a new DAZN agreement meant Ortiz was still tied to the company. Ortiz disagrees, and the timing is everything. According to the complaint, his team believed that uncertainty over Golden Boy’s broadcast future—and Golden Boy’s strained relationships across the sport—were already costing him major fights and major money.
The biggest missed opportunity, Ortiz claims, was a potential showdown with former welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis. After Ortiz’s November 2025 win over Erickson Lubin, Ennis entered the ring for a face-off, and both fighters publicly said they wanted to fight each other. It was widely viewed as one of the best match-ups the sport of boxing could make across weight classes.
Ortiz wanted Golden Boy to negotiate with Ennis’s promoter, Matchroom Boxing, and hoped the bout could attract backing from Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh, the head of the government's General Entertainment Authority. Alalshikh has poured massive money into elite boxing events over the last few years. According to the lawsuit, Ortiz believed a Saudi-backed Ortiz-Ennis fight could have been career-defining.
Instead, Ortiz alleges, Golden Boy sabotaged those possibilities. The complaint points to Golden Boy's principal, Oscar De La Hoya and the public attacks he has made on Alalshikh and the Saudi-backed Zuffa Boxing venture—attacks made on social media during the very period Ortiz’s team was hoping to attract Saudi interest. Ortiz claims those outbursts poisoned the well, making him less attractive to deep-pocketed backers through no fault of his own.
Things escalated in December 2025. Ortiz says Golden Boy presented him with only one fight option—Ennis—despite a contract requirement that required Golden Boy to offer multiple opponents. Worse, Ortiz alleges he was threatened with being “benched” if he didn’t accept the terms and warned that Golden Boy would publicly blame him if the fight fell apart. According to the complaint, Ortiz later learned that Golden Boy, Matchroom and DAZN had already reached written terms for the Ennis fight—terms that were never shared with him, even though his contract required full disclosure and his signature on any deal involving his fights.
After Ortiz terminated the promotional agreement in January, the conflict spilled into public view. De La Hoya posted Instagram videos setting deadlines and monetary demands for the Ennis fight, then declaring negotiations dead when those deadlines passed. Ortiz says none of this was authorized and that Golden Boy no longer had the right to speak for him.
When Ortiz’s manager Rick Mirigian publicly invited other promoters to reach out, De La Hoya responded by asserting control over negotiations and threatening legal action. Ortiz claims these public power plays were designed to create confusion in the industry and scare off potential partners—effectively freezing his career during what should be his prime earning years.
The lawsuit asks the court to confirm that Ortiz is free from Golden Boy and to award damages for lost fights, purses, sponsorships, and momentum. But for boxing fans, the real takeaway is bigger than legal language: this case highlights how promoter politics, broadcast uncertainty, and personal grudges can derail elite fighters—and how even an undefeated champion can find himself fighting outside the ring just to get the biggest fights made.
