Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis could be headed to 154 after his promoter Eddie Hearn’s second consecutive failure to put him in position for a fight at 147. It seems clear that Hearn wants Boots to fill the played-out, empty 147-lb- abandon section to move to. greener pastures on 154.
Bigger fights, bigger paydays
Hearn did not say whether Boots would move up to 154. It is a bad sign that the British promoter lost the purse to Ennis’ IBF mandatory challenger Karen Chukhadzhian’s promoters today and failed to put together a unification fight with the WBO welterweight champion the previous day. Brian Norman Jr.
Some believe Hearn wants Boots to vacate his IBF welterweight title and move up to junior middleweight to compete in a larger pool of more lucrative, career-expanding fights.
One obvious first choice Hearn (32-0, 29 KOs) could look at for Boots is Israil Madrimov, the former WBA junior middleweight champion, who was able to defeat Terence Crawford last month at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles on August 3. Angeles.
Crawford radiates
Hearn promotes Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs), so matching Boots against him will be an easy fight. It would also be an excellent way for fans to compare his performance to Crawford’s.
Boots would be popular if he did a better job of beating Madrimov because Crawford looked terrible against him. Ennis will have to fight aggressively, let go of his hands and entertain the fans.
Madrimov fought Crawford to a standstill through the first nine rounds, but he took his foot off the accelerator in the championship rounds and was taken out by the Nebraska native in 10 to 12.
If Boots can beat Madrimov impressively, it will put pressure on Crawford to fight him as he will have to show the fans that he is better than him.
Even if Crawford refused to fight Boots, the popularity he would gain from a win over Madrimov would be immense. Ennis can pick anyone he wants at 154, like Sebastian Fundora, Vergil Ortiz Jr., or Tim Tszyu.
The Canelo dream fight
What would be interesting is if His Excellency Turki Alalshikh convinced Canelo Alvarez to fight Boots Ennis. It would make Crawford green with envy, but Ennis would be more deserving of getting a fight against Canelo based on his better work against Madrimov.
Conversely, Boots could lose to Madrimov, which would hurt his career. At least he’ll try, and he’ll be better off trying to push himself rather than staying in the dead 147-lb division, with Hearn failing to set up fights for him due to his lowball offerings.
