Preliminary talks have begun for a battle between Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. for a contest on February twenty second in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia.
Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) will transfer up from 147 to make his debut at 154 towards the big-punching 26-year-old Golden Boy-promoted Oriz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) in a Riyadh Season occasion. The underway negotiations recommend that Boots Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchiroom Boxing, has had a change of coronary heart and is now on board with making this battle.
Deal In The Works
There had been discuss that Hearn didn’t need to make the battle after Ennis’ lackluster exhibiting in his title protection of his IBF welterweight belt towards Karen Chukhadzhian final month on November ninth on the Wells Fargo Middle in Philadelphia. Though Ennis gained the battle by a 12-round unanimous resolution, he obtained hit so much and didn’t look significantly good in victory.
“Per Golden Boy’s [president] Eric Gomez, preliminary talks have begun with Matchroom Boxing for Vergil Ortiz – Jaron Ennis at 154 on Feb. 22 Riyadh Season card,” stated Dan Rafael on X.
It’s unclear if this can be a one-off for Ennis preventing at 154 or if he’s determined to make the transfer up on a everlasting foundation. Staying at 147 will get Ennis nowhere as a result of the champions need some huge cash to battle him in unification, and Hearn doesn’t look like excited by paying them what they’re asking for. Additionally, the opposite champions aren’t fashionable, and there’s little to achieve from Ennis preventing them.
If Ennis stays at 154, he’ll have numerous alternatives for necessary fights, particularly if he retains struggling like he did in his final battle towards Karen Chukhadzhian. Preventing like that can have a stampede of contenders and champions eager to battle Ennis as a result of they’ll need to make the most of his vulnerability and develop into the primary particular person to beat him.
It’ll be a tricky battle for Ennis, 27, to absorb his debut at 154 as a result of he’ll be going up towards among the finest within the weight class instantly with out getting his toes moist within the division first. Nevertheless, that is how the old-school fighters moved up, and Ennis feels he’s that type of a fighter.
