Some fighters hit their peak at or around the age of 28. Which brings us to Jaron “Boots” Ennis. Today, the Philadelphia fighter celebrates his 28th birthday, but it’s almost certain Ennis will not be partying and will instead be working hard in training. Being all set to make the move up to the 154 pound division, this after leaving behind the toil it took on his body to make the welterweight limit, Boots, along with his promoter Eddie Hearn, is saying we can expect to see him look even better at the new poundage. A whole lot better.
Hearn has gone as far as stating that Ennis, 34-0(30) will be “unbeatable” as a 154 pounder, that he will be a “monster” when working at his full capability, this something he was unable to do after having boiled down to 147. Boots recently took to social media to say he wants “all the smoke” at 154, and we fans are looking ahead to some great fights/performances from Ennis.
Could 154 unlock the version of Ennis we’ve never seen?
Chief among these fights right now, is a Boots-Vergil Ortiz clash. Now, that’s a fight everyone wants to see happen; Turki Alalshikh included. Ennis, who Hearn says may make the move up to the middleweight division in time, has bags of talent, as we have seen, and if he really was only operating at “around 60 percent” when boxing as a welterweight, as Hearn has said numerous times, well, we could indeed see something special when Boots gets his ’54 campaign underway.
That 154 pound debut will prove interesting, the opponent and the overall performance. But if Ennis hasn’t yet come close to reaching his peak, then who knows how great he could go on to become. For his part, Ennis is of the belief that whatever he does in the ring, no matter who he fights and defeats, and whether he scores a quick win or wins over the course of 12 rounds, the critics will never be satisfied.
Ennis says critics won’t be satisfied—no matter what he does
“I want to be on point and like I said before, I want to make sure I give crazy performances. I want to go crazy every time out, I want to feel great every time out,” Ennis said to YSM Sports on why he made the move up to 154, so he would be at full strength. “It don’t matter what I do. I could beat somebody 12-0, I can knock somebody out in the first round, they always got something to say. Then they talk about I get hit. What? I get hit less than all they favourite fighters, which is crazy. And I come out of the ring with no cuts, no bumps, no scrapes. You ain’t never seen my eye closed, no cuts, none of that stuff. Their favourite fighters take a lot of punishment, like bad.”
Maybe Ennis has made a great point here; perhaps more fans, along with more experts, will appreciate Boots a lot more after he’s been in a war and has come out victorious. But is there anyone capable of giving Ennis a war, of bringing out the best in him? Ortiz may well be the man, but Ortiz aside, who else is there for Ennis to show his greatness, to win over the critics, when fighting at ’54?
Maybe Ennis is aiming to capture all the belts at the new weight, and maybe he can do it. Has Boots reached his prime yet, and if not, how great can he become? It sure should be a lot of fun finding out.
