It’s a major fight that makes so much sense. Now all that’s needed is the money and the courage.
Top Rank Chairman Bob Arum told BoxingScene he’s aiming to stage a welterweight title fight between his two-division and current WBO 140-pound champion Teofimo Lopez and unbeaten IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
“That’s the fight we want and I believe we can make it happen,” Arum told BoxingScene Monday.
Arum previously said he’s planning a major bout for Lopez 21-1 (13 KOs) for March in Madison Square Garden, and Lopez, 27, told reporters at Saturday’s Top Rank card in Phoenix that he has interest in Ennis, along with unbeaten four-division champion Terence Crawford.
The proposed showdown comes at a time for Philadelphia’s Ennis 33-0 (29 KOs) when he’s cornered to step up and make the bout following his retreat from a proposed 154-pound fight offered by Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh against unbeaten interim WBC champion Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Coming off a defensively porous showing against mandatory opponent Karen Chukhadzhian, Ennis, 27, declined the lucrative match with the rugged Ortiz 22-0 (21 KOs), saying he preferred it at 147 pounds.
Now, he’d have a 147-pound fight as requested against a popular champion and fellow East Coaster that would provide him the significant stage he’s said he’s longed for.
Arum said a Top Rank attorney has been in talks with Ennis promoter Eddie Hearn to make the bout, with the plan being to stage it as a joint pay-per-view on ESPN and DAZN.
“We’d ante up for Teofimo and Eddie will ante up for Ennis,” Arum said.
Arum’s plan follows concerns from the Lopez camp on Saturday that Top Rank alone couldn’t fund the bout.
“They’ll never go for it … (Lopez) could be left playing a game of musical chairs,” the official said.
Lopez has been perturbed by the cheaper assignments of Jamaine Ortiz and Steve Claggett this year, and he’s lobbied for substantial, well-paying tests that also include Devin Haney and Ryan Garcia when he returns from his suspension ending April 20.
A match with Ennis would satisfy Lopez’s desire, providing a meeting with the unbeaten fighter who has been considered one of the sport’s top rising talents while also bringing life back to a glamour division lacking star power since Crawford won the undisputed title in July 2023.
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