Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis says he was left with no choice but to use Uisma Lima as his opponent for him to make his debut at 154 on October 11th. The guys that he wanted, Serhii Bohachuk and Israil Madrimov, were either unavailable or unwilling to fight him.
Boots Fights Back at the Hate
Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) states that Lima (14-2, 10 KOs) was the only one who agreed to the fight with him. It worked out well for the 28-year-old Ennis, as he knocked him out in the first round and made a statement, or he likes to think he did. Fans on social media were overwhelmingly negative about Ennis. They feel that he could have fought a better opponent, but was too afraid to take the challenge.
Statement or Smoke Screen?
Ennis gained very little from his victory over Lima in terms of an increase in popularity. He would have been better off moving up to 160 to face a highly rated contender. With ‘Boots’ Ennis’ size, he could have easily gone up to middleweight to face a top-10 level opponent.
“When I decided to make the decision to go to 154, we had Bohachuk, they said something about Madrimov. But I think they said something about Madrimov was injured. It was a bunch of guys,” said Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis,” to the AH Show, talking about why he ended up fighting Uisma Lima in his debut at 154 rather than a top-level fighter.
“There were bigger names, but the Lima guy was the only one who accepted it,” said Ennis. “We reached out to those guys, and a lot of those guys turned us down. You got to fight the guys in front of you, and make a statement in how I did. I’m glad I did it how I did it.
“Now, as I said, I’m on to bigger and better things. It’s that time now. It’s time to shut everybody up,” said Ennis.
It’s questionable whether Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, will be able to deliver him a bigger fight next against someone like Vergil Ortiz Jr. If not, Ennis has a big decision to make. Does he continue to fight the same level of opposition that he’s been his entire career, or does he move up in weight to 160 ot 168?