“Boots Ennis to Punish Vergil Ortiz Jr.”

Coach Stephen Edwards says Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is a bad style matchup for Vergil Ortiz Jr. He sees the fight as a total mismatch in favor of WBA interim 154-lb champion Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) when the two meet in 2026.

Mean Streak Behind the Smile

Stephen says he noticed that Ennis (28) has a mean streak and enjoys hurting his opponents. He is a natural born killer. For the slow, easy-to-hit Vergil Ortiz Jr., Edwards says he has “everything wrong with him.”

The inevitable towels of mercy

Edwards says that WBC interim junior middleweight champion Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) has too many bad mistakes in his game that will put him at the mercy of Ennis. He predicts that Vergil Junior’s corner will throw in the towel between “six and eight”.

Ennis is coming off a first-round knockout win over contender Uisma Lima in his debut at 154 on October 11, 2025 in Philadelphia. The way ‘Boots’ destroyed Lima, it’s hard to believe that anyone in the junior middleweight division will be able to withstand his offensive firepower. Edwards rates Ennis as the #1 fighter at 154 after only one fight in the division.

Corner stop Predicted early

“He’s a mean, mean kid. I think he enjoys hitting people, but he just doesn’t come off like that. I think there’s going to be a corner stop between six and eight. They’re going to say, ‘Man, it’s not worth it,'” coach Stephen Edwards said. YSM Sports Mediawhich featured a stoppage win for Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis over Vergil Ortiz Jr. predicted in 2026.

To listen to Ennis speak, he sounds like anyone, and doesn’t come across as someone who fights or enjoys it. He almost sounds nerdy in a way, like someone more into breaking down impossible-to-solve math problems.

“I think ‘Boots’ is completely wrong for Vergil. I think the way he holds his hands, the way he tries to throw everything hard. ‘Boots’ is too talented, too strong, hits too hard, too twitcy, too much of a dominant jab, too much of a body puncher, and too good to hit in exchanges,” says Edwards.

The fight still hasn’t taken place, and there are questions about whether Golden Boy Promotions will sign the young Vergil Jr. to the guillotine, Ennis, wants to sacrifice. If they don’t believe that Ortiz Jr. can’t win, they’re unlikely to see it through unless there’s a massive amount of money at stake.