Eddie Hearn says the Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. Eimantas Stanionis fight on April 12th is #1 and #2 in the welterweight division to prove who is the best champion. IBF 147-lb champion Ennis (33-0, 29 and WBA belt-holder Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) headline at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event will be shown live on DAZN.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)
Hearn gave himself a pat on the back for delivering Ennis, 27, the first of three unification fights he needed to become undisputed champion at welterweight.
Eddie had recently failed to negotiate a fight for ‘Boots’ last November with WBO champion Brian Norman Jr, which resulted in Ennis being stuck defending against his IBF mandatory Karen Chukhadzhian in a rematch that fans had no interest in seeing.
Ennis looked awful in that fight, getting outboxed and even out-punched by Karen through many rounds. To say that Chukhadzhian made ‘Boots’ look terrible is putting it lightly. Jaron won the fight by a 12-round unanimous decision, but his stock in the boxing world plummeted because he looked terrible.
Ennis made things worse recently by turning down a career-high payday to fight WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on Turki Al-Sheikh’s massive February 22nd card in Riyadh. Fans saw that as a flat-out, old-fashioned cowardice on Ennis’ part. So, for Jaron now to be fighting Stanionis in a unification on April 12th, it’s done nothing to resurrect his lost popularity.
The fight that U.S. boxing fans wanted to see was Boots Ennis vs. Vergil Ortiz Jr, not a match against Stanionis, who isn’t well known or well thought of by Americans. The other two world champions at 147, Brian Norman and Mario Barrios aren’t well-respected either by fans.
The Wrong Opponent
Boots won’t get much credit for beating either of those guys, and it’ll be an empty accomplishment if he finally accomplishes his goal of becoming undisputed at 147. No one will care because fans place more value in Ennis moving up to fight Vergil, Bakhram Muratazaliev, Israil Madrimov, and Serhii Bohachuk at 154.
“This is enough. Brian Norman, Barrios, two good fighters. Stanionis is the one. Stanionis is the toughest fight for Boots, and you will see the best vs. the best. Claim the crown, and that is what it’s all about,” said Eddie Hearn to Matchroom Boxing, saying who he feels is the best of the three 147-pounders that Jaron Ennis must beat.
“It’s one of the most pleasing and rewarding announcements we’ve ever made because Boots had a dream [unifying the 147-lb division] that we were responsible for administering, and that was for him to unify the division to become the standout best 147-pounder in the world,” Hearn continued.
“I have to give respect to Stanionis because no one wanted to fight Boots, and maybe the last performance [Karen Chukhadzhian rematch] just thought and this is a brilliant fight. This is the #1 and #2 welterweight in the world fighting the IBF, WBA, and the Ring Magazine belt to tell us unequivocally who is the best 147-pounder is in the world.
Dodging Ortiz?
This isn’t a rewarding announcement because it’s done nothing to make fans forget Boots turning down a risky fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February 22nd. Fans think Ennis ducked Ortiz, afraid to lose to him and see his popularity further eroded.
Boots has already looked bad in most of his recent fights against Karen Chukhadzhian x 2, David Avsanesyan, and Roiman Villa. The last time Jaron looked impressive was three years ago when he knocked out 34-year-old Custio Clayton in the second round on May 14th, 2022.
“‘Boots’ had a lot of criticism because he stood by his dream, and when the [Vergil] Ortiz fight came when the Teofimo fight came, he said to me, ‘Eddie, I want to unify the division. I want to win all the belts. Please, make it happen,’ and we made it happen. We delivered, and we’re at the Boardwalk Hall, an arena steeped in history,” said Hearn.
“It’s going to be a huge show, and for all the people who doubted him. All the people who took shots at him [Ennis], this is the real fight. April 12th at Atlantic City, ‘Boots’ against Stanionis for welterweight supremacy and for the Ring Magazine belt. The last two owners of the Ring Magazine belt were Terence Crawford and Floyd Mayweather, going back decades
“Beyond that, [Sugar Ray] Leonard, Hagler, Sugar Ray Robinson. This is the quality we’re going to see in this fight, and this is the statement that ‘Boots’ will make to prove that he’s a pound-for-pound great,” said Hearn.
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