As fans are no doubt aware, Jaron “Boots” Ennis will soon be making the move up to the 154 pound division, his two welterweight titles expected to be vacated pretty soon. But who will Ennis fight at 154, both in his ’54 debut and beyond? There are some great fights that could be made for Ennis at the new weight, such as a fight with a Vergil Ortiz, and Ennis going in against all the world champions at the weight.
And promoter Eddie Hearn, speaking with YSM Sports Media, said Ennis will indeed fight for all the belts at 154, and that he will then make the move up to the middleweight division. Ennis, a special talent in the eyes of Hearn and plenty of other people, will be stronger, more powerful and just as quick when fighting at 154. While the move to middleweight will come as and when Boots, 34-0(30) feels his body is ready to move up again.
“Boots will fight for all the championship belts at 154, I also think he’ll move to 160 as well, in time,” Hearn said. “I mean, when I had a chat with him about 147, I think he feels like, even a [Eimantas] Stanionis fight, I think he feels like he’s at about 50 percent of his capabilities, because of the weight. And I think you’re going to see something frightening at 154. You’ve got [Sebastian] Fundora and [Tim] Tszyu, and with all due respect to Tszyu and Fundora, Boots would eat those guys alive. A tough fight is [Bakhram] Murtazaliev, you saw what he did to Tszyu, he’s a bit of a bogeyman at ’54. But who else is there? I think the toughest fight for Boots at 154 is Vergil Ortiz, and that’s not even for a title. But the fight Boots really wants is Terence Crawford. That’s an unbelievable fight.”
So, the future looks exciting for Ennis, provided he can get the big fights he and Hearn are looking to get. Does Ennis really “eat alive” guys like Fundora and Tszyu? Will Crawford show any interest at all in taking a fight with Boots? Can Ennis clean up the 154 pound division and then be successful as a middleweight?
All good questions, and questions we’d all love to see answered.
“Boots” Ennis Is A Welterweight No More, Will Fight At 154 Next
Jaron “Boots” Ennis has made the decision to move up to the 154 pound division. Ennis has been speaking about the possibility of making his move up for some time now. There was the possibility the WBA and IBF welterweight champ would stick around at 147 for one more fight at the weight before moving up, but no, “Boots” will move up in his next fight. This has been confirmed by Eddie Hearn.
As to who Ennis of Philadelphia will fight in his 154 pound debut, it could prove to be that he gets an immediate shot at the WBA title, with Ennis, the WBA “super” champ at 147, having the option to be designated as the mandatory challenger for the WBA super-welterweight title. Terence Crawford currently holds the full WBA title at 154, so obviously Ennis will not be fighting him next (or maybe not at all), with Yoenis Tellez being the current interim champ.
It’s entirely possible that Ennis could fight Tellez pretty soon. But can Boots become the best at his new weight? If he is so much stronger and more powerful as a 154 pound fighter, well, look out the entire weight division is all we can say.
Looking ahead, promoter Eddie Hearn said Boots could fight Vergil Ortiz at the new weight at some point after he has had his 154 pound debut, and a big yes, please, is all we can say about that fight. Hearn also said that Ennis’s 154 pound debut is expected to take place in either August or September.
Ennis, currently perfect at 34-0(30) is expected to vacate the WBA and the IBF titles in the coming months. As far as the IBF title goes, it’s been reported that Irish warriors Paddy Donovan and Lewis Crocker have been ordered to box a final eliminator for the title in a return meeting, this a rematch of their hugely controversial March fight. Donovan was DQ’d in that fight, this for flooring Crocker with a right hook that landed after the bell had sounded.
