Well, Jaron Ennis delivered. Last night in his hometown of Philadelphia, “Boots” walked right through the previously unstopped Uisma Lima, this inside a round. In so doing, Ennis backed up all the big words, most of them coming from promoter Eddie Hearn, who has said his fighter will soon go on to take the mythical pound-for-pound title as the very best in the sport.
(Credit: Emma Brawley Matchroom Boxing Winner Announcement)
154 Just Got a Problem
Ennis had said he would shine in his 154-pound debut, that he would “be myself and have fun.” That Ennis did, scoring two knockdowns in total as he blitzed Lima, 14-2(10), who was not given any chance at all to get into the fight. It was all over inside two minutes, and instantly talk turned to what, or who, is next for Ennis, now 35-0(31).
There will be stiffer tests than the ones Lima gave last night. This is no test at all, as things turned out, and the big fight we all want to see is Boots Vs. Vergil Ortiz. Now, nothing much scares proven warrior Ortiz, but might last night’s frightening display of power, speed, accuracy, and venom have scared off some of the other 154-pounders Ennis has in his sights? Maybe.
“Now we’re seeing the real Boots, closer to 100 percent,” Hearn said after last night’s power show.
Is Ennis the Face of Boxing?
And we may have watched the next superstar of the sport as a result of Ennis moving up to 154. Might Ennis even go on to become the next Face of Boxing? Okay, maybe this is going too far too soon, but the type of exciting, indeed electrifying performance we all saw last night cannot help but make a fight fan get excited.
The Ennis vs. Ortiz fight could be special, as could the respective performances of each fighter. While Boots against the likes of Sebastian Fundora, or Keith Thurman if “One Time” upsets Fundora when their postponed fight finally rolls around, or Bakhram Murtazaliev, or Xander Zayas, could also prove interesting.
For now, Boots Ennis has put the entire 154-pound division on notice: he has arrived and he’s here to do some serious business. The hype may well be justified in this fighter’s case. Who wants a piece of Boots now?
