Boots Ennis: Is 154 the only way to a world title?

Coach Stephen Edwards says Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis doesn’t dodge anyone. He thinks it’s good that “behind the scenes, and his promoters are trying to understand what they can get for him at 147.

(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)

IBF welterweight champion Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) isn’t helping himself by fighting WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. and rejecting Teofimo Lopez. It would have been huge for Boots.

Boots could have fought Vergil on Turki Al-Shiekh’s card on Feb. 22 in Riyadh, and it would have been a big payday for him. Fans believe Ennis dodged Vergil Jr and did not want to take the risky match for fear of being beaten.

Boots’ decision not to fight Vergil Jr. comes at a bad time for him. He just had a terrible performance against Karen Chukhadzhian in their rematch on November 9, and some think his confidence is gone.

The Ducking Debate

“There are fighters who duck behind their management to not fight fighters, but I don’t think that applies to him,” Stephen Edwards said. YSM Sports Media on his belief that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is not ducking guys.

“I don’t think he ducks anyone. I just think there’s a lot of things going on behind the scenes, and they’re just trying to figure out who they can get in the ring, and he knows his days are numbered at 147,” Stephen continued on ‘Boots’.

“I don’t think he’s saying, ‘I’m afraid to fight this guy.’ I just think a lot of things on the business side that aren’t flowing too smoothly for him. He has a lot going on. His team just needs to get those guys in the ring,” Edwards said.

Boots doesn’t duck anyone at 147, of course, because there’s no one talented enough for him to want to avoid them. But he certainly seems to have eluded WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. when that fight was offered to him recently. Ennis said he wants to stay at 147 to unify, but his situation there is not promising.

Ennis reportedly turned down a career-high payday to sign Vergil Jr. to fight for the career of February 22, which looks bad on his part.

Edwards’ defense

“If he gets a unification against Brian Norman or a fight against Mario Barrios. Every time I see Conor Benn they keep talking about Barrios. So, I know there’s some kind of conflict there when you have a guy that’s in your promotional stable, and one guy (Benn) is trying to fight.

“It must be difficult for Boots. If Conor Benn gets the Mario Barrios to fight and Boots wants to unite, it’s tough,” Edwards said.

If Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, chose to start a fight between Conor Benn and WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios rather than help him with a unification against Barrios, you can understand why it would upset him if he followed what’s going on

Boots said he didn’t know what happened when he was offered the Vergil Ortiz Jr. fight at 154. Jaron talked about what was going on behind the scenes without him being aware of it. If Boots’ management doesn’t keep him in the loop, he’ll be surprised if Conor Benn gets the fight against Barrios instead of him.

If Conor gets that fight, Ennis should think about moving up to 154, because that means he’ll probably never get a chance to reach his goal of going undisputed at 147.

If Conor prevails against Barrios, he will use the WBC title for a big money fight against Manny Pacquiao rather than facing Ennis. He is not going to fight him because his chances of success will be slim, and he can make more money holding the WBC title to use it to attract the 45-year-old Pacquiao. That belt will be the trap to lure Manny.