The junior middleweight division remains one of boxing’s deepest and most compelling weight classes and right now, it’s also one of the most unsettled. For months, the sport has waited on what many believe is the best fight 154 pounds can offer: Jaron Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr.. It’s a matchup that checks every box prime-for-prime, boxer-puncher vs. pressure monster, star power, and divisional supremacy.
Yet as negotiations continue to drag publicly, and with Ortiz filing a lawsuit against Golden Boy Promotions earlier this month, doubts are growing about whether that showdown will actually come next.
While the division’s biggest fight remains stuck in neutral, this weekend offers several meaningful bouts that could finally bring clarity to boxing’s most crowded weight class.
Image | Source: Dice City Sports BREAKING NEWSJaron “Boots” Ennis DOUBLES DOWN & SAYS HE WANTS VERGIL ORTIZ NEXT
Image | Source: Dice City Sports No updates…But I have HIGH HOPES THAT THE FIGHT IS GOING TO HAPPEN, THATS THE FIGHT THAT I WANT “NEXT”-
Image | Source: Dice City Sports : @ysmsportsmedia #Boxing pic.twitter.com/shE6r14SL9— Pound4Pound (@Pound4our4Pound) January 26, 2026
Saturday night in San Juan, Puerto Rico, Xander Zayas will attempt to unify junior middleweight titles in a homecoming bout against Abass Baraou.
The fight comes under unusual circumstances. With Top Rank still searching for a new media-rights partner following the end of its ESPN deal, Zayas-Baraou will stream on the promotion’s “classics” channel typically reserved for archival fights.
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