Jaron “Boots” Ennis has his new opponent for July.
Jaron “Boots” Ennis will defend the IBF welterweight title against David Avanesyan on Saturday, July 13, with Avanesyan stepping in on short notice to replace original opponent Cody Crowley.
Crowley was recently pulled from the bout after failing an eye exam. Ennis vs Avanesyan will headline a Matchroom Boxing card on DAZN in Philadelphia.
Ennis (31-0, 28 KO) is considered one of boxing’s top rising stars, and the fight will be the 26-year-old’s first with Matchroom, jumping ship from the Premier Boxing Champions stable. He won the interim IBF belt in early 2023, and was elevated to full champion when Terence “Bud” Crawford declined to fight him and focused on a move up in weight.
The 35-year-old Avanesyan (30-4-1, 18 KO) is a familiar name in the division. The Russian-born Armenian, now based in the United Kingdom, has notable losses to Lamont Peterson, Egidijus “Mean Machine” Kavaliauskas, and the aforementioned Crawford in his career, and also went on a tear at the European level from 2019-22, which earned him the shot at Crawford in late 2022.
Crawford did about as expected, stopping Avanesyan in the sixth round. Avanesyan most recently fought in December, a nothing tune-up fight on a small show in Birmingham, England, where he fought as a middleweight.
All in all, Matchroom did about the best they could given the circumstances here. Avanesyan isn’t all that credible a threat to Ennis on paper, but he’s a credible fighter, and options at welterweight are limited these days, even without trying to find someone on about five weeks’ notice.
The rest of the card looks the same now as it did when the undercard was announced just over a week ago.
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