Oscar De La Hoya says he hopes promoter Eddie Hearn keeps his word on the fight between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. next at 154 to make Vergil’s WBC interim junior middleweight title.
Hearn said he wanted to make the fight between Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) and Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) but after the way Boots performs in his November 9 rematch with IBF welterweight contender Karen Chukhadzhian has, he may have second thoughts.
Hearn fell silent
British promoter Hearn held off on letting the Ortiz Jr-Boots fight after Ennis’ poor performance against Chukhadzhian at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
“I stand by what Eddie Hearn said, and hopefully he keeps his word that Vergil Ortiz vs. Jaron Ennis is next at 154 pounds,” said Oscar De La Hoya. Boxing King Media about his hope that Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn will make the fight between Boots Ennis and WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. next as he previously said he would.
Chukhadzhian skilled boots every step of the way, with countless clean shots to the head in every round. Ennis won due to a takedown in the fifth when Chukhadzhian took a knee to escape the pressure and a point deduction in round ten.
Had Chukhadzhian been a bit busier, Ennis would have suffered his first loss. The damage was still being done to Boots’ career. Karen officially exposed him, and Hearn seriously regretted signing Ennis in the first place.
Ennis won the fight with the scores 119-107, 117-109 and 116-111. However, it was such an abysmal performance that it showed that it was hopeless for Ennis to move up to 154 to face the talented contenders and world champions in this division.
Hearn hasn’t said much about the battle between Ennis and Vergil lately. The only thing you can think is that he is not confident that Ennis can win, and he wants to keep him under lock and key, well protected from Ortiz Jr. which ruins his unbeaten record.
Boots can’t afford a loss for Vergil Jr.
Look at it from Hearn’s likely point of view. If Vergil Ortiz beats Ennis, all the time, money and effort Hearn has poured into turning him into a superstar will be wasted. Hearn would be left with the battered Ennis, who needs an expensive rebuild and lacks the charisma or popularity to undertake that monumental task.
Hearn would be stuck with a useless fighter, Boots, who lacks charisma. He would have no choice but to eat the rest of his contract or release him if he had an escape clause.
