Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom, believes that Ennis could become avoided by the top fighters at junior middleweight if he “smashes” Uisma Lima in his debut at 154 on October 11th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Hearn’s Ennis Avoidance Concern
Hearn thinks that an impressive win by Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) in his debut at 154 against fringe contender Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) will work against him, causing him to be swerved by the best fighters like he had been when fighting at welterweight.
“The first thing we’ve got to do is get a hold of a title for ‘Boots.’ At 147, no one wanted to fight ‘Boots.’ He got elevated to interim champion, but at least then if you’re fighting ‘Boots,’ you’re fighting for the interim title,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype.
Ennis lacked the popularity at welterweight for the promoters and top contenders to face him after he became the #1 fighter in the division following Terence Crawford’s exit. It wasn’t just that Ennis was avoided for no reason.
There wasn’t a lot of money on the table for the top fighters to want to face him. We saw that with the $1.7 million offer Hearn made to WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman. They wanted it to be increased to over $2 million. Hearn wouldn’t budge, which was an example of the money not being there for fighters to take the risk of fighting Jaron.
“He under-performed against Chukhadzhian, and then Stanionis and the PBC went, ‘Oh, maybe he’s not as good as people think. We’ll fight him,’ and then he boxes out of his skin,” said Hearn about Ennis. “So, if he goes and smashes Lima up, maybe the Vergil Ortiz, maybe the Xander Zayas will go, ‘We’ll swerve him and fight for the championship.'”
Hearn should forget about WBO 154-lb champion Xander Zayas fighting Ennis. That’s not going to happen without Turki Alalshikh getting involved and offering Xander a lot of money. Top Rank are trying to turn Zayas into a star. Ennis would spoil that if they let him.
A Fight Hearn Can Count On
“No, the maneuvering is important for Jaron Ennis,” said Hearn.
The one fight that Hearn can count on happening for Ennis is Bakhram Murtazaliev. That’s one that they wouldn’t have to worry about being swerved. However, Hearn will have to decide if he believes in ‘Boots’ enough to match him against the hard-hitting IBF 154-lb champion Murtazaliev.
