Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis will NOT be fighting WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season card on February 22nd.
Ennis-Ortiz Fight Off
Dan Rafael reports that the deal fell apart between Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) and Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs0 after they agreed. No reason was given for why the deal fell apart.
It’s not unexpected that the fight isn’t happening because promoter Eddie Hearn had mentioned in interviews since Thursday that Ennis moving up would potentially mean vacating his IBF welterweight title. He wanted to try and set up some unification fights against the other 147-lb champions.
Was Ennis Scared?
Some fans believe Ennis lacks the confidence to fight the young phenom Vergil Ortiz Jr., as he would be the underdog. Moreover, it would be a tough fight for Ennis to take in his first match at 154. He doesn’t have great defensive skills, and getting hit repeatedly by a huge puncher like Vergil Jr. would not be a good experience for him.
Ennis looked unhappy after winning a tougher-than-expected 12-round unanimous decision over Karen Chukhadzhian in their rematch on November 9th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. He’d been hit a lot by Karen and outboxed throughout the fight. Ennis’ work rate and power saved him from losing, but he still looked bad.
In his last fight against Serhii Bohachuk, Vergil showed that he could do it all—punch, box, and move. His ability to adapt was impressive in that fight. Ennis would likely lose to Vergil, derailing his promising career.
Fundora A Possibility?
“The sides had agreed to the fight, which was supposed to be part of a mega card Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh is putting together for a Riyadh Season event on Feb. 22. The fight cratered on Friday, leaving organizers looking for a new opponent to fight Ortiz, [according to] multiple sources,” said Dan Rafael on his substack site.
“The Saudis reached out to WBC/WBO junior middleweight titleholder Sebastian Fundora’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, to gauge their interest in the bout.”
WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora would be an excellent option for Vergil Jr. to fight on February 22nd if a deal can be quickly negotiated. There’s enough time for Fundora to prepare for the fight, provided he’s not dealing with an injury or scheduled to fight someone.
If Ennis chooses to stay at 147, he could stay a champion for a long time because the division is weak, and he’s considered the top dog down there. It would be great if Hearn can setup fights for Ennis to become undisputed champion by beating these three belt-holders:
– Eimantas Stanionis: WBA
– Brian Norman Jr: WBO
– Mario Barrios: WBC
Read the full article here
