Jaron “Boots” Ennis broke into The Ring’s updated pound-for-pound rankings following his seventh round stoppage of Xander Zayas on Saturday night to unify the WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles.
The publication placed Ennis at number 9 in its latest top 10 list, one place ahead of Oscar Collazo. Naoya Inoue won the no. 1 position, followed by Oleksandr Usyk, Shakur Stevenson, Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez, David Benavidez, Dmitry Bivol, Junto Nakatani and Devin Haney.
Ennis’ inclusion comes after one of the biggest wins of his career. After losing the opening rounds to undefeated champion Zayas, he steadily took control with sharp right hands and combinations before scoring a seventh-round knockout. Trainer Javiel Centeno stopped the fight moments later, giving Ennis, 29, a stoppage victory and two world titles at 154 pounds.
The updated rankings immediately created debate among boxing fans. Many questioned Shakur Stevenson’s ranking at No. 3 despite his recent move to the light welterweight division, while others argued that ‘Boots’ should already be ahead of Haney after his latest championship win.
Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs) has now captured world titles in two weight classes and extended his undefeated record with another statement performance. His victory over Zayas is the strongest win on his junior middleweight resume and further strengthened his case among boxing’s elite fighters.
The Ring updates its pound-for-pound rankings regularly, rather than after every major event, making Ennis’ immediate entry into the top 10 a notable endorsement after Saturday’s performance.
With Boots now holding two belts in a talented junior middleweight division, unification fights against the remaining champions represent his next big challenge.
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Last updated on 2026/06/29 at 15:08
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