Eddie Hearn said today that Jaron ‘Boot’ Ennis will fight in a unification in March or April 2025 or in a “big fight” at 147.
(Credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom Boxing)
Hearn reiterated the reason Boots, 27, did not accept the offer to fight WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. for February 22 because he didn’t want to “vacate” his IBF welterweight title.
That excuse doesn’t fly because Boots just made a mandatory defense against Karen Chukhadzhian on Nov. 9 and can move up to 154 for one fight without losing the belt. So, either Hearn and Boots are either ignorant of this, or they are being disingenuous. It is hard to believe that Hearn did not know that Ennis had just made a mandatory defence.
Hearn did not say who the person would be in a fight for Boots (33-0, 29 KOs), but it would have to be someone not currently in the welterweight division. There are no popular fighters at 147.
US fans didn’t mind Conor Benn a “big fight”. He is not seen as a serious talent. He’s more of a celebrity type fighter, in the same boat as Chris Eubank Jr and Tommy Fury.
Ennis’ next move
“Boots never decided he was going to 154. ‘I could go to 154.’ I felt it was a bit of a flat performance,” said Eddie Hearn KO Artist Sports about Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. “I went on vacation for two weeks. We started getting some offers for him to fight (Vergil) Ortiz.
“The first offer was at 147 from the Riyadh season. In these situations with Riyadh Season, nobody really makes the offer. It comes from the Riyadh season. So, they sent us an email, saying: “We want to make an offer to fight Vergil Ortiz at 147 in Riyadh; this is the money.’
“I spoke to Boots, and got back to them (the Saudis) 24 hours later. I said: ‘You might want to check. This is at 147.’ I came back a day later, “It’s at 154.” I said, “No problem. Let me go and talk to Boots. I’ll be back. We’ve got 48 hours to make a decision. I said to Boots, “You have to make a decision.” “Oh, when?” ‘Now. Do you want to vacate the belt (IBF welterweight) and move to 154?’ The reason we took the (Karen) Chukhadzhian fight, which cost me a lot of money, and it was a fight I didn’t want to do because he told me how much he wanted to fight the other champions at 147″.
No matter how much Hearn talks, it still seems 100% obvious that Boots blew the fight with Vergil Ortiz because it would have made him a lot of money and received great publicity for his career. Beating Vergil would increase Ennis’ popularity, and could be a PPV attraction, opening the door for other big fights at 154.
He has talked about wanting to fight Terence Crawford in the past. Beating Vergil would help Ennis reach that goal, or at least get him a little closer.
“So, I already know. Basically, he told me, ‘I’d rather stay at 147,'” Hearn said of Ennis. “‘If I move to 154, I’ll fight Vergil Ortiz in a heartbeat, but I don’t want to release the belt. I want to try to unify. Here we go. I know the whirlwind of social media. ‘What you do?’ It’s not his weight class (Ennis). He is a world champion at 147”.
So there it is. Ennis threw Vergil away. Hearn can’t push the truth because it’s in Boots’ words. He doesn’t want to fight Ortiz Jr.
“When he makes the move, he’ll take the fight. I like the fight, because I think he wins the fight, and I like Vergil. But if you move to 154, it’s the perfect fight for us, but he’s not going to move to 154,” Hearn said.
“You can keep this interview on the record and say that his next fight will be at 147. He’s not going to say in a month, ‘Hey guys, I’m moving to 154’. That’s not the case, because if we did, we would have taken the offer and the talent that he beat. So, it’s 147 later.”
No one doubts that Ennis will stay at 147 because Hearn has said so repeatedly. It will surprise no one that Boots stays at welterweight. It would surprise people if he went to 154, but not if he stayed at 147.
Great fight guaranteed
“Will he unify in March or April or will he be in a huge fightt against a huge name. When we announce the fight, you’ll say, “Okay, fair enough.” A poor performance Chukhadzhian) will help us land a Stanionis or a Norman or a Barrios because they might think they can win now,” Hearn said.
The “huge fight” that fans will see as a big one involving Ennis at 147 would be if Ryan Garcia or Devin Haney move up in weight and wrestle. It’s here. Crawford is not returning to the division. There is no one in the weight class that fans see as a great fight involving Ennis.
“He (Ennis) was a bit taken aback by it,” Hearn said Boots was confused about the criticism he received,” Hearn said. “We’ve been talking to the Saudis for the last week or ten days. We talked to his team a bit, but there was no decision to make until the offer came in.
“The Saudis move very quickly. I close the fights on that card in three minutes when I talk to someone. So when you call Boots, and you say: ‘We’ve got this offer. To throw your belt and move to a new class of weight is a pretty big decision. It’s like, ‘How soon do they want to know?’
“It’s like, ‘I don’t really know.’ I want to unify. Can we achieve unification? “Actually, I believe, yes, we can have unification.” He said, “That’s what I really want to do.” “Well, you have a decision,” and the decision was, “I’ll stay at 147.”
“Once he did this, there is no fight at 154, and we like the fight. The reality is, Boots is a champion of the world, and of vacancy and going through a non-world championship fight. I am that the fans want, but you also see your own career and your path.
“It’s really frustrating, but I feel like once we announce the next fight, you’re going to say, ‘Fair play.’ It makes sense,” Hearn said.
Boots must be frustrated with himself, because he is the one who is returning to fight with Vergil. It’s his fault. The fight offer is rumored to be $8 million for Ennis.
