Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis will NOT fight WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh season card.
Ennis-Ortiz fights away
Dan Rafael reports that the deal between Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) and Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs0) has fallen apart. No reason was given as to why the deal fell apart.
It is not unexpected that the fight is not happening, as promoter Eddie Hearn has mentioned in interviews since Thursday that moving Ennis up would potentially mean him vacating his IBF welterweight title. He wanted to try to set up some unification fights against the other 147-lb champions.
Was Ennis scared?
Some fans believe Ennis lack of confidence to the young phenom Vergil Ortiz Jr. to fight, as he would be the underdog. Additionally, it will be a tough fight for Ennis to play his first match at 154. He doesn’t have good defensive skills, and being repeatedly beaten by a big puncher like Vergil Jr. being beaten will not be a good experience for him.
Ennis looked unhappy after winning a tougher-than-expected 12-round unanimous decision over Karen Chukhadzhian in their November 9 rematch at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. He was hit and boxed out a lot by Karen throughout the fight. Ennis’ work rate and power saved him from losing, but he still looked bad.
In his last fight against Serhii Bohachuk, Vergil showed that he can do it all—punch, box and move. His ability to adjust was impressive in that fight. Ennis will likely lose to Vergil and derail his promising career.
Fundora a possibility?
“The parties have agreed to the fight, which was supposed to be part of a mega-card that Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshikh is putting together for a Riyadh season event on February 22. fight Ortiz, (according to) multiple sources,” Dan Rafael said of his substack website.
“The Saudis have reached out to WBC/WBO junior middleweight titleholder Sebastian Fundora’s promoter, Sampson Lewkowicz, to gauge their interest in the fight.”
WBC and WBO junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora would be an excellent option for Vergil Jr. to fight on February 22 if a deal can be quickly negotiated. There is plenty of time for Fundora to prepare for the fight, provided he is not dealing with an injury or scheduled to fight someone.
If Ennis chooses to stay at 147, he could remain a champion for a long time because the division is weak, and he is considered the top dog down there. It would be great if Hearn could set up fights for Ennis to become undisputed champion by beating these three belt holders:
– Eimantas Stanionis: WBA
– Brian Norman Jr: WBO
– Mario Barrios: WBC
