Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ promoter Eddie Hearn says he could move up to 154 for his next fight if he can’t get a unification match against any of the champions at 147.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
Although Hearn feels optimistic about his chances of fighting one of the welterweight champions, Mario Barrios, Eimantas Stanionis, or Brian Norman Jr., that might be wishful thinking.
Welterweight Unification: Unlikely for Ennis
Those guys can make more money by holding onto their titles for as long as possible rather than fighting a unification match against Boots (32-0, 29 KOs), in which they would be clear underdogs with little hope of winning.
If Hearn comes up empty at 147 for Boots, the perfect fight for him at 154 would be against unbeaten Golden Boy-promoted Vergil Ortiz Jr.(21-0, 21 KOs). He fights on DAZN and could soon hold the WBC interim junior middleweight title if he dethrones Serhii Bohachuk in their clash on August 10th at the Mandalay Bay Hotel in Las Vegas.
Boots, 27, looked massive last Saturday night in his title defense against David Avanesyan at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Ennis has enough size to easily move up to 154 to take on Vergil for the WBC interim title or one of the other champions in the weight class.
154-Pound Opportunities: A Deep Talent Pool
There are also many talented contenders at 154 for Boots Ennis to fight, like one of these fighters:
– Xander Zayas
– Erickson Lubin
– Tim Tszyu
– Errol Spence
– Josh Kelly
– Jesus Ramos
– Magomed Kurbanov
– Charles Conwell
The number of talented fighters available for Boots Ennis to fight at 154 is endless, and he could put himself in compelling fights for many years, increasing his popularity far more than if he stays at 147.
“Unification fights are going to be difficult [at 147] for Boots Ennis, but how about a fight at 154?” said Chris Mannix to DAZN Boxing about options for Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ next fight. “Vergil Ortiz is back on DAZN on August 10th [against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Serhii Bohachuk].”
Golden Boy’s Protectionism
Golden Boy promoter Oscar De La Hoya is a shrewd judge of talent, and he’ll know that Vergil Ortiz Jr. would be over his head fighting Boots Ennis. It’s not probable that De La Hoya would throw Vergil Jr. in with this shark and watch him get devoured whole.
De La Hoya knows what he’s got in Vergil, and he’ll want to protect him from fighters like Boots Ennis, Terence Crawford, and Israil Madrimov at 154.
Realistically, if Boots is going to move up to 154, his best options for fights would be against Bohachuk, WBC/WBO champion Sebastian Fundora, Tim Tszyu, and Lubin. Fighters like Vergil and Errol Spence likely won’t want anything to do with him.
“I spent years hyping up and talking about a Vergil against Boots fight,” said Mannix “That fight would have to take place at 154. Vergil is not coming back down to 147. Eddie Hearn told me this week that if he can’t make a big fight for Boots at welterweight, they are ready to go up to junior middleweight,” Mannix continued.
If De La Hoya wanted Vergil Ortiz to fight Boots Ennis, he would have done so years ago instead of matching him against soft opposition to build a plastic artificial 21-0 record filled with the worst of the worst. De La Hoya has done an admirable job of matching Vergil, but it’s obvious that he’s been maneuvered around Boots all these years, and that will likely continue at 154.
“Vergil against Boots, that is a can’t-miss fight any weight class,” said hopeful-sounding Mannix.
Turki Alalshikh has an excellent relationship with Terence Crawford. He has talked about this exact fight in the past [against Boots Ennis]. If he comes to the table and says, ‘I’ve got money to make Terence Crawford against Boots Ennis, either in Riyadh or the U.S.,’ that’s a makeable fight.”
That’s another fight that Boots Ennis is unlikely to get in the foreseeable future. Crawford will not fight the young killer Boots Ennis until he gets the Canelo Alvarez payday in 2025.
That’s the silver tuna that Crawford is gunning for, and he won’t take a dangerous fight and will likely lose against Ennis until he gets that fight.
“Money talks in this business. So, I think it’s makeable,” said Mannix. “If it’s not a Bud Crawford fight, you have to look at the other welterweight champions. Mario Barrios and Eimantis Stanionis both of those guys are PBC affiliated. There has been talk of a unification fight between those two, but nothing as of yet.”
None of those fights are realistic for Boots Ennis. Norman is being positioned to fight Teofimo Lopez by Top Rank, and they won’t let an Eddie Hearn-promoted fighter like Boots Ennis rip that WBO 147-lb title away from Norman Jr. because they can make money matching him against Teofimo.
“Brian Norman Jr., who is the interim champion at the WBO, will be upgraded at some point [to full WBO welterweight champion due to Crawford having moved up to 154]. There has been more talk of Norman fighting Teofimo Lopez at some point later this year,” said Mannix.
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