Eddie Hearn says Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ first priority is to exhaust all efforts to make a unification fight next rather than facing Teofimo Lopez.
Matchroom promoter Hearn says that if he can’t negotiate a deal for Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) to face WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios or WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis, he will watch a fight with Teofimo and Ennis. This would be a joint PPV match on DAZN and ESPN.
Teofimo On Hold
Fans have been looking forward to Boots facing Teofimo Lopez next. They will be disappointed if Ennis chooses to fight a unification against Barrios or Stanionis, as neither of those guys are popular and are seen as mere belt holders.
Hearn says Ennis is focusing on unifying the 147-lb division because he’s “not a 154-lb fighter yet. That’s why he didn’t accept the offer to move up to junior middleweight to knock out Vergil Ortiz Jr. to challenge for his WBC interim title on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s February 22 Riyadh season card.
Eddie points out that Conor Benn is interested in fighting Barrios for his WBC title next, and that fight could happen. WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman wants an overhaul next so he is unavailable for Ennis to fight. That leaves only WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis as the main option for Ennis’ next contest.
“The decision was not to (move up to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr). I feel bad for Jaron, but at the end of the day, he’s not a 154 pound fighter yet. If he was, he would have fought Vergil Ortiz,” Eddie Hearn said on Fight Hub TV about why Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis didn’t accept the offer to fight WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on 22 February.
“We are chasing the unification battles. Teofimo Lopez, you saw the things about it. We (Ennis) actually love that fight, but he still wants to unite. So, if we can’t unite, he has a decision to fight against Teofimo Lopez.
“If he had gone to 154 and not fought Vergil Ortiz, I would have understood the criticism. We’re 100% staying at 147 for the next fight and maybe one more, but we have to deliver that unification,” Hearn said.
It’s not going to sit well with fans if Boots chooses to go in the direction of a unification against one of the 147-lb champions rather than facing Teofimo next. He already looks like a duck for choosing not to face Vergil Ortiz at 154 on the February 22nd card in Riyadh.
If Ennis decides to skip a mega-fight against Lopez in favor of a lackluster welterweight unification bout against Stanionis or Barrios, it will concur in people’s minds that he lacks ambition and courage.
What’s next for boots?
“The offer is to do it DAZN PPV and ESPN PPV,” Hearn said of the offer he got for a fight between Teofimo Lopez and Boots Ennis. “He (Jaron) really needs a big fight, and he wants that big fight to be a union.
“If we can’t get a unification, we have to look at the other options (for Ennis). The other options could be Teofimo Lopez or Vergil Ortiz. He’s just not moving to 154 yet. I promise you. He will either be in a unification or next in a massive battle.”
Clearly the Vergil Jr. fight is not an option for Boots’ next fight as he has already been chosen not to take that match. Ortiz Jr. has an opponent for the February 22nd card, Israil Madrimov now. So it is too late for Ennis to take that option after his refusal.
If Hearn can’t negotiate a unification fight for IBF welterweight champion Jaron against WBC champion Barrios or WBA belt holder Stanionis, Teofimo is the only option. Eddie and Boots will have to move quickly if they want the option of using Lopez as a third choice because he’s not going to hang around forever.
“For me, I love the (Teofimo) fight, but for him (Boots) it’s not the money. He wants to unify the division,” Hearn said. “That is the absolute target and objective. So, when I went to him about Teoifmo, ‘Oh, it’s a nice fight, but you have to push for the champions (at 147).’ I said, ‘I will, but that’s also on the table.’
“The first priority is to exhaust all options on the champions, and if not, I think this (Teofimo) is a great fight. We are negotiating with Stanionis. We are negotiating with Barrios. Brian Norman will not take the fight. He wants a warm-up fight first, and that’s it. It is quite transparent.
“We have to try to lock down Stanionis or Barrios, or we look at Teo, or if he (Boots) does want to move up, he has to go straight into that Vergil Ortiz fight. We’re not going to get into any other fight because people like that fight, and it’s a fight we like a lot too,” Hearn said.
