Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis claims he didn’t know what was going on with the Vergil Ortiz Jr. situation when he opted not to agree to fight him on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s February 22nd Riyadh Season card.
In an interview, Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) initially said it was a “miscommunication,” and he wasn’t in the loop for the Vergil Jr. talks. However, in the same interview, Ennis admits that he chose not to fight Ortiz because he wanted to stay at 147 and try to unify the division.
Interestingly, when Boots was asked about his previous remarks about being willing to go up to 154 to fight Terence Crawford, he said that’s different because he’s a future Hall of Famer. So, he would move up to 154, but he would have to be a massive fight against Crawford.
Fans still think Ennis ducked Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs), considering he would have gotten a big payday and increased his chances of getting a fight with Crawford.
If Boots moved up to junior middleweight, he would at least have a chance of getting that fight. Staying at 147 gives him no opportunity because he’s in a different weight class, fighting less popular fighters.
“Out Of The Loop”
“I reached out to everybody involved to get down to the bottom of what was going on and it was a bunch of miscommunication. I got a great team, and I hired them to do their job, but I just felt like I was out of the loop. From now on, I will be more in tune of what’s going on,” said Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to YSM Sports Media, claiming he didn’t know what was going on when with the Vergil Ortiz Jr. fight that he chose not to take.
“They called on the deadline [for the February 22nd card], and I was undecided,” said Ennis about why he didn’t take the fight with Vergil Jr. “I want to unify or be undisputed. Everybody was calling me an ‘Email champion’ because I was never able to take a title from somebody. I was given a belt. I never got that feeling of winning a world title and taking it from somebody,” said Boots.
That sounds weak from Ennis, who says that he wants to stay at 147 because he NEVER won a world title from anybody and was emailed his IBF belt. The problem is that the three other welterweight champions are highly regarded. They’re seen as paper champions with no fan base and won’t help Boots’ popularity if he does beat them.
Another problem is all the champions are tied up at 147, and they’re not going free. If they do become available, Boots’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, would need to meet their asking price. He failed to do that with WBO champion Brian Norman Jr., Mario Barrios, or WBA champ Eimantas Stanionis. If Ennis stays at 147 in 2025, it’s possible that Hearn won’t be able to set up a unification fight for him.
“Terence Crawford is a future Hall of Famer,” said Ennis, when asked why he’d be willing to go up to 154 to fight Crawford if given the opportunity but NOT Vergil Ortiz Jr. “It’s the same thing him trying to get Canelo. Going up to 168 and only fighting Canelo, but nobody else at 168. It’s the same thing.”
If Ennis is willing to move up to 154 to fight Crawford, he should have moved up to fight Vergil because it looks bad that he chose not to fight him on Turki’s card on February 22nd.
Validation At 147
“2025, my next bout is a unification. Like I said before. I got to get my hands on one of those belts [at 147],” said Ennis. “I got to get that feeling from taking a belt from somebody. I have yet to feel that feeling, and I feel like that’s what I need for my career and my legacy.
“I need that feeling from taking a belt from somebody. I feel like that will stamp myself. I’ll feel better about myself at 147,” said Ennis.
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