Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis: Does he need a marketing gimmick?

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is stuck in a dead division at welterweight with no notable fighters the boxing world is interested in seeing him fight.

Boots’ social media reach is non-existent, and he’s not a charismatic fighter who can get fans excited to see him fight like other less talented boxers do by talking trash. Unfortunately, that’s not going to change.

The 27-year-old Boots will never be a fighter full of personality that creates the kind of interest that Ryan Garcia does with his interviews and posts on X.

Unlike most fighters, Ryan works hard by posting and giving interviews and it has paid off for him with 12 million followers on social media. Those followers can be counted on to buy PPV events, and that’s what Boots Ennis needs.

So, Boots needs a gimmick that can attract publicity and keep fans interested in following him, not just for specific fights, but on a daily basis. Ennis and other fighters may not like needing gimmicks to sell their fights, but that’s how it is in any sport.

Trick ideas

• Get a hype person: Ennis needs a Bill Haney-type hype man who can talk him up, do interviews. Boots and his father, Bozy, are not charismatic enough to fill that role. What they need is someone like Bill who can connect with the people.
  – Social media: Hire someone who can post 5 to 10 times daily on X and Instagram.
• Be flashy during fights: Since the opposition Boots has to fight against at 147 is more than weak, he needs to make his fights interesting by sailing in a Naseem Hamed.
• Create a character for his personality: Take acting classes to develop a character that can help keep fans interested.

Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) is determined to stay at 147 despite the division’s lack of quality opposition. If Ennis moves up to 154, it could help his career and he wouldn’t need a marketing ploy to get fans interested in him, but he won’t. He will stubbornly stay at 147 and wither.

His promoter, Eddie Hearn, recently failed to get him a unification fight against WBO champion Brian Norman Jr. and then lost a purse bid for his IBF mandatory Karen Chukhadzhian fight on November 9. That fight won’t help Boots’ career and may even hurt it unless he can drum up interest with a marketing ploy.