Boots are kicking in the door in Brooklyn

Ennis’ technique and hand speed initially overwhelmed Zayas, and Boots used a six-punch combination to knock Zayas down in round 1. After the initial onslaught, Zayas fared a little better, landing some clean shots of his own and trying to use his size to wear Ennis down in clinches. In round 3, Zayas sent the crowd into a frenzy by landing some hard shots of his own that snapped Boots’ head back. It was a real setback for Ennis. Promoter Eddie Hearn said he was worried for about twenty seconds in the third round, while Ennis said he went cold.

Zayas proved why he was a worthy unified champion, trying to hold and move and avoid the fanatical attack of Philadelphia’s Ennis. The Puerto Rican faithful tried to get their compatriot back into the fray, but Boots was just too fast, too strong and too technically sound for Zayas. Ennis scored his second takedown in round 5 with a left jab followed by a right uppercut. After the fight, Ennis said he was surprised the fight continued after that point. It was only a matter of time, and Zayas’ corner threw in the towel 1:49 into the seventh round. As Boots promised, the ring announcer declared him the winner and new champion.

Ennis, who turned 29 on Friday, has long been earmarked for greatness. Tyrone McKenna (25-6-1, 8 KO) told how he faced Ennis as a 23-year-old pro when Boots was just sixteen years old with two amateur fights under his belt. “(I) jumped in, and I swear to God, I couldn’t beat this guy for the life of me. He absolutely destroyed me. (…)

After that sparring I started thinking, should I box even more? This kid really destroyed me.” McKenna is just one of many people who have inspired Boots to feel this way.

Ennis switches seamlessly between southpaw and orthodox stances. Combined with his quick feet and quick hands, Boots often drew comparisons to the recently retired Terence Crawford. Even some of the criticism Ennis receives feels cut and pasted from Terence Crawford. Ennis has been criticized for his thin resume, despite campaigning in a thin weight class of 147 pounds.

But in the biggest fight of his career, Ennis answered any questions about his legitimacy. He came out strong in front of a hostile crowd, overcame adversity in round three when it looked like Zayas might do something special, and kept his foot on the cap to close out the show. It was a complete performance.

Ennis was asked earlier this week how he would classify himself as a fighter. “I’m a variety. I can do anything. I can do anything; I do whatever I want. I feel like I’m a boxer-puncher, I can walk people down, I can do in-fighting, outside-fighting, middle ground — whatever you want, I can do it, and I’ve got the IQ to do it.” Fans watching at the Barclays Center and on DAZN would find it hard to disagree.

Who will challenge the new unified junior middleweight champion in the future? Ennis and Vergil Ortiz (24-0, 22 KO) have been matching each other for some time in what could be a fantastic fight. After Ortiz’s win last November, Ennis entered the ring to stare down Ortiz and set the stage for a fight between the two. However, Ortiz is in the middle of a contractual dispute with Golden Boy Promotions, who have kept him out of the ring ever since. Hopefully, any issues can be resolved soon, so Ortiz has less to do with lawyers and more with sparring partners.

After the fight, Ortiz tweeted that he was “sleeping for Jaron”. In a mostly casual, joyous post-fight press conference, Boots made it clear that Ortiz is “flat-footed and gets beat up a lot” and seemed eager to get in the ring with Ortiz.

The biggest obstacle facing Ennis would be WBC champion Sebastian Fundora (24-1-1, 15 KO). At 6’5″ tall with an 80-inch wingspan, Fundora would have a six-inch height advantage over Boots. The Coachella, Calif., native just had the best win of his career, knocking out Keith Thurman in six rounds in March.

The final piece of the junior middleweight puzzle is IBF champion Josh Kelly (18-1-1, 9 KO). This past January, Kelly defeated Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-1, 17 KO) to win the championship. Kelly will make his first title defense against Caoimhin Agyarko on July 25. While the Sunderland, England native has less name recognition than Ortiz or Fundora, holding the IBF championship makes Kelly an attractive option.

Then there’s Xander Zayas himself. The Ennis fight was widely speculated to be Zayas’ last fight at 154 pounds. However, Eddie Hearn revealed that Zayas has a rematch clause with Ennis. It’s hard to imagine Zayas wanting to take it back with Boots, but stranger things have happened. Going into Saturday night, despite Zayas being the champion and the obviously bigger fighter, he was a clear underdog. Although oddsmakers weren’t in his corner, the Brooklyn crowd certainly was. Saturday night marked the ninth time Zayas fought as a professional in New York, and the Puerto Rican fans were behind Zayas.

Fight Week felt like a cultural celebration. Brooklyn is already known for its diversity, but with the World Cup in full swing and Puerto Ricans on hand to cheer on Xander Zayas, the melting pot felt even bigger.

The weigh-in at the pavilion in front of the Barclays Center was a steamy affair, with the humidity and the animosity between the fighters. Boxing fans mingled outdoors with soccer fans and curious passers-by. There was a minor controversy on Friday when Zayas and his team requested that Ennis trim his beard. At first Ennis refused, but the New York State Commission intervened and forced Ennis to trim the beard.

Ennis seemed unfazed by the birthday barbershop trip, as he was by the vocal Puerto Rican crowd. “After Saturday night they are going to root for me,” says Ennis. He certainly did enough to turn some of those boos into chants of “Boots.” The crowd was electric inside the arena, even during the preliminary fights. The undercard was lined with Puerto Ricans.

In the main support fight, Emiliano “El General” Vargas (18-0, 15 KO) stopped Bryce Mills (22-2, 9 KO) in the fourth round. Mills, a New York native, came out in a Syracuse Carmelo Anthony jersey to the sounds of “New York State of Mind” by Jay-Z. But the Mexican fans in attendance were vocal in their support of El General. With Vargas spending most of the fight in a southpaw stance, the two super lightweights traded hard punches for the first three rounds. Mills made good on his promise to go for a knockout against Vargas, but Vargas’ shots seemed to do more damage. Vargas knocked Mills down as the third round drew to a close, and a small mole had already begun to form under Mills’ right eye. El General continued his onslaught as the fourth round began, and he just overwhelmed Mills.

British light heavyweight Ben Whitaker (12-0-1, 9 KO) made his debut in the United States and it ended in a New York minute. “The Surgeon” immediately showed off his hand speed and reflexes, landing numerous clean shots before unleashing a quick right hook that dropped Richard Rivera (27-3, 20 KO) as the first round closed. Fifteen seconds into round two, the 2020 Olympic silver medalist hit Rivera with a textbook left hand that again left Rivera in the lurch, and the referee had seen enough. It was the fourth straight fight Whitaker won by knockout within five minutes.

In the lead-up to the fight, Rivera wasn’t too impressed with Whittaker’s braggadocious schtick, saying, “I’m not too swayed by his antics. I don’t think those moves, those antics, come from bravado. I think it’s a mask to hide his real fear…. When it comes to fighting him, we’re going to see how far and the antics take.”

So far, his antics and his talent have taken Whitaker to the precipice of a shot at a light heavyweight championship.

Jahi Tucker (17-1-1) of Brooklyn defeated Euri Cedeno (14-1-1, 12 KO) by majority decision, winning two judges’ scorecards 97-93 and 98-92, and the third judge winning the bout 95-95. It was a controversial ten rounds in the middleweight division. Cedeno, or La Bazuca, was animated throughout the fight and grabbed Tucker as the two went to their separate corners. Tucker was persistent with his jab, but Cedeno was able to stop much of Tucker’s offense. Tucker believes he is the best middleweight in the world and wants to fight for a world title at 160 pounds.

Super flyweight Juanma Lopez (6-0, 3 KO) put the Puerto Rican faithful on edge by making short work of Spain’s Alberto Motos (6-3, 2 KO). Junma, son of former two-division world champion Juan Manuel Lopez, hit Motos with a straight left hand before the referee waved the fight off 2:05 into the first round.

Dennis Thompson (11-0) defeated Edwin Rodriguez (12-12-3) by split decision in an electric eight-round phone booth fight. On paper, Thompson was set to win this fight, pad his undefeated record and move on. But no one gave the script to Puerto Rican Edwin Rodriguez, whose pressure entertained fight fans and caused problems for Thompson. Thompson did better with his boxing skills in the last few rounds, and he was able to get in and out of exchanges more effectively. Rodriguez was game for the duration of the fight.

What’s next for Jaron Ennis? A fight at home in Philadelphia? Virgil Ortiz? Trying to collect a third belt against Fundora or Kelly? Whatever he decides, Jaron Ennis has the boxing world by his bootstraps.