Vergil Ortiz Jr. will return to the ring before the end of the year, marking the undefeated contender’s first outing since settling a legal dispute with Golden Boy Promotions.

The highly-rated 154lb standout spent much of the year sidelined by a messy contractual battle with his promoter.

The drama outside of the ring derailed a targeted blockbuster against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, but Ortiz and Golden Boy reached a settlement in July to resume their working relationship.

Ortiz’s frustrating period of inactivity is now set to end. Seeking to build on his second-round KO of Erikson Lublin last November and re-establish some momentum, Ortiz has been matched with a recognisable veteran on the December undercard of David Benavidez’s upcoming unification against Michal Cieslak.

Following initial reports, his comeback opponent has now been confirmed as former unified welterweight champion Keith Thurman.

While Thurman brings commercial value and significant name recognition to the card, he enters the bout with his own major questions surrounding inactivity and his current place at the top level. The 37 year old was stopped by Sebastian Fundora back in March.

For Ortiz, securing a dominant victory over ‘One Time’ serves as a crucial bridge to shake off the ring rust and finally target world titles. Whether or not he can secure the Ennis fight – who is set for a unification against Josh Kelly at the beginning of 2027 – remains to be seen.