Just who will former two-belt welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis face in his eagerly looked-forward-to 154-pound debut? There are currently quite a few stories out there regarding what Boots might do next, who he might face, and whether that massive fight we all want to see between Ennis and Vergil Ortiz will happen, and if so, this year (Oscar De La Hoya said this week that the fight is “inevitable”).
The Next Jaron “Boots” Ennis Opponent
But Ennis’s promoter Eddie Hearn spoke with IFL TV a few hours ago, and while he would not name the fighter Ennis will take his ’54 bow against, the promoter did say the fight is “a dangerous fight,” against a guy who has “been in backyards and is a dangerous, dangerous foe.”
Hearn said numerous offers were sent out to fighters, with none of them but the mystery fighter agreeing to sign on to fight Boots.
“Boots wants to have a really solid fight at 154, and then he’ll fight anyone,” Hearn said. “Part of his deal (with us) is that he has signed to fight Vergil Ortiz. Everything that was discussed and agreed, Jaron has actually signed the contract to fight Vergil Ortiz. Done. To be agreed with Golden Boy, it will be January or February. We must have made five or six offers to fighters, all within the top 10, the top 5………fighters earning modest money [didn’t want the fight with Boots].”
Eddie Hearn on Ennis’s Dangerous Foe
“The reality is, this is a really important move to ’54 for Jaron; this is the only fight he takes, which will be a good fight, by the way,” said Hearn. “He’s a dangerous, dangerous, tough fight. Now, to the casual eye, they might say, ‘Who’s that?’ But look at the record, look at the hunger of the guy. This isn’t a guy with a load of defeats on his record, this is a guy who’s been in backyards, has consistently won, and I think it’s quite a dangerous fight.”
When pressed again to reveal the name of the man who will welcome Boots to 154, Hearn would not do so. So, who could it be, and how will Ennis look in his debut at the new weight? For absolutely sure, we all cannot wait to see that Boots-Ortiz fight, and as long as both men avoid a defeat in the meantime, it seems we can look forward to seeing it early next year.
