154-lb contender Charles Conwell has reportedly been offered a six-figure offer from Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis for the Matchroom Boxing-promoted fighter’s debut at junior middleweight.
It’s a bad matchup for Boots to take on Conwell because he might lose, and even if he wins, he won’t get credit.
A Dangerous Matchup for Boots
Ennis could regret his decision to fight the big puncher Conwell (20-0, 15 KOs) if the reports are solid. That’s a dangerous fight for Boots Ennis, whose defense is nonexistent and who tends to get involved in firefights with all his opponents.
#4 WBC Conwell has looked impressive lately, knocking out Khiary Gray and Nathaniel Gallimore in his last two fights. If Boots defeats Conwell, he will get a top-five ranking and will be in a position to fight WBC 154-lb champion, Sebastian Fundora.
That’s a risky fight against Conwell for Boots and not the ideal one for a fighter who uses his chin as his main line of defense.
David Avanesyan and Roiman Villa landed huge shots on Boots Ennis, and he had to tough it out in both fights. Conwell punches a lot harder than those guys, and he might wipe the deck with Boots Ennis, leaking his promoter Hearn crying crocodile tears afterward for failing to make deals for him at 147.
Hearn’s Failed Negotiations
Hearn failed to set up a unification with WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. when he chose not to increase his $1.7 million offer by $500K to $2.2 million to close the deal.
It’s hard to believe that Hearn would give up on making the deal over such a small sum, making fans suspect that he’s not interested in investing money in Boots’ future.
Norman’s father, Brian Sr., says they would have accepted the $1.7 million offer if Ennis and Hearn had agreed to fight on neutral territory in Las Vegas.
Hearn wanted the Ennis-Norman fight to be staged in Philadelphia because he thought they would have sold out the 21,000-seat Wells Fargo Center. That would have brought in a lot of money.
They wouldn’t take that low sum to fight on Boots’ home turf in Philadelphia, where they have everything going against them, needing a knockout to win the fight. In other words, Team Norman wouldn’t give Boots Ennis the WBO 147-lb title on a silver platter.
If they want that belt, they must cough up $2.2 million for a Philadelphia fight or agree to fight in neutral territory. Ultimately, Hearn chose not to agree to Team Norman’s terms. So, Boots Ennis is now looking at a risky fight against Conwell, which could end badly for him.
Norman Jr. will now defend his WBO 147-lb title against #7 ranked contender Derreick Cuevas on November 8 at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia. The two will be fighting on the undercard of Keyshawn Davis vs. Gustavo Lemos on ESPN+.
While some boxing fans criticize Norman Jr’s decision to reject the $1.7 million, they don’t factor in that his chances of success fighting Boots Ennis’ hometown of Philadelphia would be quite low.
So, if Norman Jr. loses his WBO title, his paydays will drop to next to nothing, and he will be back to being a contender, needing to claw his way back to the top. The money Hearn offered Norman Jr. wasn’t worth him fighting Boots in Philadelphia.
Norman Jr. can make more money by holding onto his WBO title, making many defenses of his belt, and becoming a bigger star than Ennis, who has no personality and zero social media presence.
Brian Jr.’s all-action fighting style is more entertaining than Ennis’s, and he can sell his matches a lot better because he can actually talk.
Ennis isn’t that good of a fighter for jumping up to 154 to take on a puncher like Conwell in his first fight in the junior middleweight division.
Read the full article here
