Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ decision to stay at 147 rather than move up to 154 to face interim WBC champion Vergil Ortiz Jr is based on his hope that his promoter, Eddie Hearn, will eventually will set up unification fights against the other three champions.
His Excellency Turki Alalshikh said he tried to put together the fight between Ennis and Vergil Ortiz, but he could not do it. He says that Boots “Changed my mind.“
Hearn isn’t saying who Ennis might fight next when he returns to the ring in the first half of 2025, but it won’t be against either champion at 147. Ennis will finally make another title defense against a contender in a fight that fans have little interest in seeing.
It would not be a surprise if Boots Ennis against one of these fighters for his next defense in April or May 2025:
– Lewis Crocker
– Paddy Donovan
– Ekow Essuman
– Pat McCormack
Boots seems to be headed in the same direction as the former Hearn fighter Demetrius Andradewho has been matched against weak opposition in his three fights with Matchroom. When Ennis’ contract with Hearn expires, it is predictable that it will not be renewed.
Popularity Dive
These aren’t fights that will interest fans, but Hearn won’t have to pay much to get any of those fighters to agree to fight Boots. It would be a different story if Hearn tried to start a unification fight for Ennis at 147 because the champions would want a lot of money due to the high risk that a fight of that nature would entail.
Ennis’ popularity is at an all-time low after he opted not to move up to face Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs) on the February 22nd card.
It doesn’t look promising for Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) that Hearn will be able to deliver any unification fights for him at welterweight as he is someone to avoid in the section. Ennis is NOT popular, lacks personality and doesn’t fight the type of opposition that would increase his popularity.
“He gave us his word and changed his mind at the last minute,” His Excellency Turki Alalshikh told Ariel Helani’s channel, talking about Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis not wanting to move up to 154 for a fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Ennis must have learned from Hearn’s failure to set up the unification fight with WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. that he doesn’t have much of a chance of getting the fights he wants at 147.
Without Turki’s involvement in fights at 147, Boots has nowhere to go because Hearn isn’t going to want to overpay the other belt holders. Turki wants big fights, and neither champion at 147 is popular enough for a matchup against Ennis to create any demand. He’s interested in Ennis challenging Vergil Ortiz Jr, but there’s nothing he can do if he doesn’t feel like it.
A “bad look” for boots
“Hearn said he’s not going to fight in February anymore. He will have to be pushed in April or in May,” said Chris Mannix on his channeltalks about ‘Boots’ Ennis’ next fight in 2025.
“It makes no sense. It’s not like he’d move up to fight this career-long junior middleweight (Vergil Jr.). He would move up anyway to fight a former 147-pounder he talked about.
“He (Ortiz Jr) didn’t look infallible. He beat Serhii Bohachuk but was dropped twice in that fight. If you made Vergil against Boots, I’d prefer Boots. Not by a ton, but I’d favor him early in that fight. It looks like a duck.
It is doubtful whether Boots Vergil Jr. can beat Of course, he knows this himself, so he backed away from the idea of moving up to 154 to challenge Vergil Jr.
As Ennis looked against Karen Chukhadzhian, Roiman Villa and David Avanesyan, he is not going to beat Ortiz Jr.
“You want to keep your (IBF welterweight) belt. You just made a mandatory title defense against Chukhadzhian. You can keep the belt, move up to 154, take a fight, and if it doesn’t work out for you, drop back and defend your title,” Mannix said.
“I know guys, once they pull up, they really don’t like to pull down. Boots is still young enough to possibly move back in weight. None of this makes any sense, and it’s an overall bad look for Boots Ennis,” Mannix said.
