Eddie Hearn still can’t say for sure that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis will fight WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. next. Matchroom promoter Hearn says, “Maybe” the Ennis vs. Vergil Jr. clash on February 22nd. He expects an announcement soon.
Ennis looked the picture of a broken heart after his recent fight against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9th. He had a vacant thousand-yard stare and could tell he was haunted by that performance on a daily basis.
That’s why it’s risky for Ennis to jump into the Vergil Jr. fight without a rebuild of two or three confidence boosters.
Boat has to decide
Ennis has not yet decided whether he will take the fight, indicating that he and his promoter, Hearn, are concerned about what might happen if he moves up to 154 to fight Vergil. Ennis looked very bad in his last fight against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9 and did not perform well in his match before that against David Avanesyan.
Boots faces a big decision: Should he vacate his IBF welterweight title and move up to 154 or stay where he is and defend against lesser opposition?
Whatever he decides, it will reflect his confidence. At this point, he seems to have lost his confidence and will likely stay at 147 to continue defending his belt.
Moving up to 154 would mean Ennis entering the unknown, which could be a disaster for him. Vergil Jr. can hit, and Boots isn’t exactly hard to hit.
Few people believe Ennis would prevail against Vergil because he doesn’t look like he’s an elite level fighter right now. You can tell that Hearn has lost faith in Ennis after watching his last two performances against Chukhadzhian and Avanesyan.
Hearn states that Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) will decide whether to fight the undefeated Ortiz Jr. next. (22-0, 21 KOs) wants to face. He prefers the fight to take place at 147 for his IBF welterweight belt, but that is not possible because Vergil, 26, is too big to melt down to that weight class.
Vergil has been fighting at 154 for his last three fights since 2022, and it will take too much from him to return to the division.
Announcement soon
“Maybe,” said Eddie Hearn to the media when asked if the Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis fight on February 22 will take place. “We were in discussions. Of course Boots would rather fight at 147, but Vergil won’t fight there. He moved to 154.
“I think there will be an announcement soon for February 22. The problem is that today is Thanksgiving, which is not easy. It’s like me trying to negotiate a deal with a British fighter on Christmas Day. We love the fight, but Boots has to make a decision.
“Do you get rid of the (IBF welterweight) belt, or do you move? I don’t know which way he’s going,” Hearn said.
