Eddie Hearn says the reports from Matchroom that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis has been released from his contract are false. Hearn says that they intend to keep IBF welterweight champion Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) for his entire career and will never in a “million years” release him.
An announcement for Boots’ next fight in November could come this Saturday or early next week. Hearn says he is talking to the management of IBF mandatory Karen Chukhadzhian about setting up the fight, which he hopes will be in Philadelphia.
This week there was a post on Twitter about Matchroom planning to cut Ennis. Hearn says he has been asked by various media outlets if the Tweet is true, and he says it is untrue.
Boxing fans wondered if Hearn was still keen to promote Boots after failing to secure a unification fight for him against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. to negotiate Norman asked, but he chose not to.
Some fans took Hearn’s reluctance to invest $500,000 to boost Ennis’ career as a sign that he was not up to promoting him compared to other fighters with arguably less physical talent, such as Shakur Stevenson, who heaped praise on him and allegedly a King’s ransom for his now-canceled fight against Joe Cordina.
When Hearn lost the purse to Boots Ennis’ IBF-bound Karen Chukhadzhian last week, it was further proof that he is not in love with Jaron and shows his lack of interest in promoting him by being a miser.
Hearn says the plan is for Boots Ennis to stay at 147 to try and collect all the belts. That’s where Ennis intends to stay rather than move up to 154, which is filled with top predators it would be risky for him.
“Just the most bizarre world we live in. Whatever you read on Twitter, 70%, maybe 80% of it is complete bollox,” said Eddie Hearn iFL TVdenies parting ways with Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, cutting him loose from Matchroom.
“People think it’s actually true. We signed one of the best talents in American boxing, Boots. I couldn’t be prouder to represent him. We just hit a 15,000 crowd in Philadelphia. On what planet would we release Boots from his contract? No, never, not in a million years,” Hearn said.
It would be crazy for Hearn to dump Boots Ennis so soon, given how he showered him with compliments from head to toe after signing him to Matchroom recently. Boots has fought just once since being signed by Hearn, stopping journeyman David Avanesyan in the fifth round on July 13.
After all the compliments Hearn heaped on Boots’ head, it was a disappointment that he was matched against the 35-year-old Avanesyan rather than Brian Norman, Terence Crawford, Mario Barrios or Eimantas Stanionis.
If Hearn is going to be a cheap skater when it comes to coming up with the dough to entice the top fighters to take on Boots, what’s the point of keeping him around the match room?
It doesn’t make sense. It’s like buying an expensive Ferrari and then keeping it in the garage 90% of the time except for Sunday drives. If Hearn is going to make Boots a star, he will need to invest in his career. He might hate the idea now, but he’ll be glad he did later when it’s raining money every time Boots fights.
“That’s not what they meant by the Tweet. They said: “Matchroom is looking to free Boots Ennis.” No. We have a good relationship with Boots and Bozy. We’re definitely not going to release him,” Hearn said of Boots. “His next fight will be in November, and it will be announced as early as Saturday, but probably early next week.”
I’m not sure why Hearn is so tight-lipped about who Boots Ennis fights in November when it’s clear it’s going to be Karen Chukhadzhian, the same guy he beat by a lopsided 12-round unanimous decision in Washington last January . , DC
“We have this (Karen) Chukhadzhian fight, which is a rematch,” Hearn said. “It wasn’t one we expected, but we see the future at 147 pounds. We want to make sure he can get those unifications. There is no guarantee that Norman, Stanionis and Barrios will fight against Boots, but I would like it.”
If Hearn thinks Brian Norman Jr’s price tag next year is going to be less than the $2.2 million he requested this time, he’s kidding himself. If anything, Norman Jr. wants more money, and hearn will be kicking himself for not agreeing to the $2.2 million. Norman defends his WBO title against Derrieck Cuevas on Nov. 8 on ESPN+, and if he looks like gold in that fight, his value will skyrocket, and Hearn will be stuck with a much tougher fight to put together.
“There’s no rush to weigh in at 154, but that’s also being considered,” Hearn continued of Boots’ options. “We are talking, but we certainly will not release Boots from his contract. We hope to represent Boots for the rest of his career.”
I can’t blame Hearn for not wanting Boots Ennis to move up to 154 because that would be a dangerous spot for him, especially with his lack of defense. They hit too hard for a fighter who gets tagged as much as Ennis typically does in his fights.
If Ennis moves up to 154, chances are the predators in that division will make life difficult for him. Ennis will need to change his fighting style to become more of a boxer in order to thrive as a junior middleweight.
“We want to continue the success we had in Philadelphia,” Hearn said when asked if he wanted Boots to defend against Karen in Germany as Matchroom lost the purse to Chukhadzhian’s promoters. “So, we’ll have to see. We also talk to Chukhadzhian’s team. We’ll have to see what’s next.”
