Golden Boy Promotions (GBP), Ortiz’s promoter, successfully obtained an emergency temporary restraining order (TRO) last Friday, preventing Ortiz from entering into promotional or fight contracts with third parties until further court order, including specifying that a fight being negotiated between Ortiz and Ennis could not proceed. Ortiz objected in writing to the GBP TRO on Tuesday.
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Ortiz initially filed a legal challenge against Golden Boy on January 16. Part of that lawsuit asked a Nevada court, by way of declaratory relief, to confirm that its contract with Golden Boy had been terminated because Golden Boy no longer has an exclusive media rights agreement with DAZN, a material incentive to Ortiz’s promotional contract. Golden Boy’s attorney, Richard P. Cestero, argued that Ortiz is not a free agent because, although Golden Boy’s deal with DAZN has not been renewed, the two sides agreed to the material terms of an extension and are finalizing a long-term deal.
According to court documents obtained by Uncrowned, Ortiz’s attorneys will argue at Friday’s hearing that Judge Cristine D. Silva should ultimately deny Golden Boy’s motion and lift the TRO because, among other reasons, Golden Boy cannot prove that he will suffer any irreparable harm if Ortiz is allowed to fight while the process is ongoing.
Golden Boy’s lawyers argued in their TRO motion that DAZN would not renew its media rights agreement if Ortiz was allowed to pursue a fight with Ennis without his involvement. However, according to a signed statement from DAZN COO Ed McCarthy, that is not the case.
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“DAZN remains open to attempting to reach an agreement and enter into a long-term distribution agreement with GBP on commercially reasonable terms, whether or not GBP has Mr. Ortiz under contract,” McCarthy said.
Additionally, McCarthy appeared to dispute a claim made by Cestero that material terms had been agreed upon for a long-term streaming deal between Golden Boy and DAZN. McCarthy said the material terms were “well progressed.”
“The PRA contained a provision requiring GBP to work in good faith with other promoters as necessary to negotiate with VO’s preferred opponents, and also permitted VO’s representatives to negotiate directly with other promoters. The same clause prevented GBP from entering into negotiations behind VO’s back by requiring GBP to fully disclose the terms of any written offer and requiring VO to be a signatory to any agreement relating to its fight.”
Ortiz’s side claims he was unable to maximize his earning opportunities due to Golden Boy founder Oscar De La Hoya’s inability to work in good faith with Turki Alalshikh. Alalshikh is a major financial backer of most major boxing events today, and it is argued that De La Hoya’s criticism of the Saudi financier’s new venture, Zuffa Boxing, through his “Clap Back Thursday” Instagram series, hurt Ortiz’s earning power.
Turki Alalshikh (left) is boxing’s biggest financier today.
(Chris Unger via Getty Images)
Ortiz’s contract also requires Golden Boy to offer him three potential opponents for any fight, but his manager, Rick Mirigian, was allegedly told in a meeting with Golden Boy that if they did not accept the promoter’s offer to face Ennis, Ortiz would be “benched” and no other fights would be offered to him.
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A meeting between Golden Boy, Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom and DAZN resulted in an agreement regarding terms for an Ortiz-Ennis fight. According to Ortiz’s lawyer, Greg Smith, Ortiz’s contract stipulates that Golden Boy must present the document for the agreement of terms to Ortiz, which they did not do and therefore violated their agreement with the boxer.
Smith says the court’s temporary restraining order has prevented Ortiz from signing a lucrative promotional deal.
“Ortiz was offered a three-fight deal by Matchroom Boxing that included the April 18, 2026 fight against Mr. Ennis referenced in GBP’s motion. Although VO’s exact compensation under that offer depends on the outcome and financial performance of the fights, VO would receive at least twelve million dollars ($12,000,000). However, given Matchroom’s projections for the economics of the fights offered, it is likely that VO’s earnings would approach twenty million dollars ($20,000,000) for the three fights.
A different promoter also offered VO another three-fight contract that guaranteed him sixteen million dollars ($16,000,000), plus perks based on fight ticket and PPV sales. “If not for the Court issuing the TRO on February 13, 2026, one of those agreements would likely already be signed.”
Golden Boy sent a cease and desist letter to Matchroom on January 16, threatening legal action if Matchroom attempted to sign a deal with Ortiz. The promoter is also suing Ortiz’s manager, Mirigian, for interference with contract and interference with potential financial advantage.
Smith will ask the court on Friday to dissolve the emergency TRO and deny GBP any further interim relief. If his arguments prove successful and the TRO is lifted, Ortiz could well be heading for an April 18 fight with Ennis on a Matchroom-promoted show, which Uncrowned understands was days away from an announcement until GBP secured a TRO.