The WBA committee voted to elevate Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (34-0, 30 COs) to welterweight supreme champion today and ordered him to defend against his compulsory Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 COs).
120-day deadline
Ennis is on the clock and should defend the WBA title against Eimantas Stanionis on April 12 against Giyasov against Giyasov on April 12. Giyasov is a more powerful version of Karen ChukhadzhianA fighter who gave “Boots” Ennis on November 9 last year a difficult time. Giyasov has skills, power, and he can move. On paper he is a nightmare for the easy boots.
Ennis cannot avoid defending Giyasov because he has already gone aside to fight him in a unification. Of course, Boots’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, can look for a way out to bypass his mandate title defense.
Jackal in the Henhuis?
If the old Fox Hearn can set up a unification for Ennis with WBO swelling champion Brian Norman or WBC champion Mario Barrios, he can do Weasel out of this risky title defense against talented Olympic silver medalist Giyasov in 2016.
Hearn will have to open his piggy bank and give Norman and Barrios a big offer to agree to fight against Ennis. He will not do this because it will require investment in Ennis.
The champions will not agree to fight Ennis for the money Hearn offers because their chances of winning would not be great. I don’t see any of the guys taking the fight with Ennis.
If Turki Alalshikh prefers to help Hearn by offering Barrios or Norman a large wallet to fight against Ennis, the fight can take place, and he can swing Giyasov. This is what Hearn is likely to hope for, because if he can fight Ennis against Giyasov, he may lose just as badly as in his re -broadcast with Karen. Boots’ stock dropped from that fight.
Fortunately for him, he had a poor champion, Stanionis, who held the WBA. It was the ideal opponent for Ennis to look like 24k gold against a flawed belt container.
“Ennis is now the order to defend his Super Championships against Shakhram Giyasov – the official mandatory challenger of the division – per WBA rules, Ennis must face Giyasov within 120 days of his April 12 victory over Stanionis. ‘ WBA Committee has decided today.
Last updated on 04/22/2025
 to welterweight Super Champion today and mandated that he defend against his mandatory){kind=link}