Preliminary negotiations have begun between WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis for a fight at 154 on February 22 in a Riyadh season event.
Dan Rafael reports that talks have begun between the Eddie Hearn-promoted Boots Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) and Vergil Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs).
Vergil is one of the best at 154, and this is the proving ground for Boots to show he belongs among the elite. If he loses, he’ll have to return to 147 and continue fighting the same anonymous opposition he’s fought his entire eight-year career.
Negotiations begin
Next to no one gives Ennis any chance to beat Vergil Jr, who is a massive puncher with technical skills and the ability to adjust when things aren’t going well. We saw this in Vergil’s win over Serhii Bohachuk on August 10th.
Some find it surprising because Golden Boy boss Oscar De La Hoya questioned whether Hearn would make the fight after Ennis’ lackluster performance in his rematch against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9 in Philadelphia.
“According to Golden Boy (president Eric Gomez), preliminary talks have begun with Matchroom Boxing for Vergil Ortiz – Jaron Ennis at 154 on the February 22 Riyadh Season Card,” said Dan Rafael. X.
Allowing Boots to deal with Ortiz Jr. to fight will show a lot of courage on Hearn’s part because it could end badly for him. However, if Ennis can’t beat Vergil Ortiz, he doesn’t have much of a future with Matchroom, as staying at 147 is a dead end. Hearn can’t continue baby Ennis’ career if he can’t swim with the sharks.
Big test for Ennis
Therefore, it is an excellent idea for Hearn to make the fight between Ennis and Vergil now. If Ennis loses, it’s a waste for Hearn to keep him aboard the Matchroom ship.
Hearn should focus on only the ultra-talented fighters for his stable and only make exceptions for short-term contracts that involve fighters with charisma but not great talent, such as Shakur Stevenson and George Kambosos Jr. Those types are good for short-term contracts. A guy like Ennis, who lacks charisma and can’t hang with the top guys at 154, it’s a waste for Hearn to keep him if he loses to Vergil Jr.
Top 154 pounds
Bakhram Murtazaliev
Sebastian Fundora
Serhii Bohachuk
Israel Madrimov
Erickson Lubin
Charles Conwell
Tim Tszyu
Forget about Terence Crawford. He’s on a different level than Boots, and it’s pointless to even consider a fight between the two after Chukhadzhian exposes Ennis again.
Heading into the rematch, Ennis bragged about how he was “going to have my fun” and dominated Chukhadzhian by being relaxed, which he didn’t do in their first fight last year on January 7, 2023.
This time Ennis stepped up even worse. Chukhadzhian improved and fought like a more powerful version of Floyd Mayweather Jr, landing pot shots at will and even dominating Boots on the inside.
It was a disaster for Boots, and the only positive thing that could come out of the fight was that the judges gave him a 12 round unanimous decision. Ennis wins with the scores 119-107, 117-109 and 116-110. Boots knocked Karen down in the fifth. I had Ennis win 7-5.
Boots Ennis vs Chukhadzhian Punch Statistics
– Ennis: 224 of 730 shots for 30.7%
– Chukhadzhian: 173 of 522 for 33.1
