Eddie Hearn says a fight between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. might occur at 147 for Ennis’ IBF welterweight title rather than 154.
Hearn states they’ll decide which direction to go with Boots this week. He says he still wants to unify at 147. Going by Hearn’s lack of enthusiasm when discussing a potential Ennis-Vergil Jr. fight, it seems clear that he’s NOT eager to make the matchup.
Why Not 154?
One could read Hearn like a book when he discussed a fight between Ennis and Ortiz. He clearly wants no part of that fight, hence his yapping about it occurring at 147. If Ortiz is offered a lot of money, he might do it, but it’s pathetic that he would have to drain down to make that fight at welterweight rather than Ennis coming up to 154.
Ennis looked terrible in his last fight against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9th. He was outboxed and, surprisingly, out-punched by him in front of a large crowd at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Before the fight, Boots said, “I’m going to have my fun,” which was code for, ‘I’m going to knock this guy out. ‘ However, he looked miserable against Chukhadzhian and was lucky to come out of the fight with a win.
Ennis’ stock dropped with that performance, and he’s now viewed as a one-dimensional fighter who lacks the talent to move up to 154 to compete with the sharks in that weight class. Vergil Ortiz Jr., as would six or seven other fighters, would be an absolute disaster for Ennis.
Making the fight at welterweight gives Boots a better chance of winning because Vergil would be weakened, draining down from 154. That’s one way for Hearn’s fighter to win: his chances against Vergil at 154 would be slim. Vergil is powerful, skilled, and one of the best fighters at 154, if not the best.
Hearn doesn’t say if it was his idea for Vergil Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) to come down to 147 for the fight with Boots (33-0, 29 because it would be difficult for him to make that weight. Vergil hasn’t fought at welterweight since 2022, and he had medical problems cutting weight to get down to 147.
Ennis Staying At 147?
“Yeah, there are a lot of obstacles, and we’ve got a call with Jaron later. Obviously, he wants to defend his 147-lb title,” said Eddie Hearn to Boxing News about a fight between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. for February.
“After his last fight [Karen Chukhadzhian], he thought it might be time to move [to 154]. He does want to unify the division, but he would be more than open to a fight against Vergil Ortiz as well. So, we’re talking to the other champions [at 147], we’re talking to Vergil Ortiz, and we’ll make another decision this week for the next step for Jaron Ennis.
The obstacle Hearn is alluding to in a cryptic way is likely the need for Vergil to agree to the Ennis fight happening at 147. That’s a deal-killer right there. Ortiz went through hell, making weight for his last two fights at 147, and it would be next to impossible for him to return to the division after two years of fighting at 154.
This looks like a tactical way to show that they’re not interested in making the fight with Ortiz. If Ennis and Hearn wanted that fight, they would go up to 154 and challenge Vergil for his WBC interim belt.
“The offer we had was to fight Vergil Ortiz at 147, which is interesting because we get to keep our title. Maybe there’s a move to 154 as well. That’s the correspondence we received,” said Hearn when asked if Vergil can still make 147. “It’s a big decision for Jaron, and it’ll be made this week.”
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