Conor Benn says no one knows who IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is in England because he doesn’t have a “personality”.
(Credit: Mark Robinson / Matchroom)
The unbeaten Benn (23-0, 14 KOs) said he does not look at Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) when “big names” are mentioned because he is well known in the UK.
Ennis’ lack of charisma
Benn, 28, rates Boots as an outstanding fighter at 147, according to Terence Crawford, but his lack of charisma and personality make him unfit to fight.
It is undesirable. Jaron’s promoter Eddie Hearn obviously has he had a heavy weight trying to promote the Philadelphia native with his dull, flat, uninspired personality. Hearn can’t do it alone. He needs to build his brand, but it’s not happening.
Ennis doesn’t seem to understand that boxing is the entertainment business, and you have to be able to interest people outside the ring. Look at Tyson Fury. He’s not very talented and has a barren resume, but he’s made an absolute fortune because of his clown personality.
Boots had to himself; otherwise, it’s not worth it for Hearn to keep him in his Matchroom team. Eddie is excellent at hyping up fighters, but he can’t do it if they are only in the body during the promotion of their fights.
Ennis is not doing the public relations (PR) work he should be doing outside the ring, doing interviews, posting on social media and creating characters. He needs a gimmick to sell himself to the public, but nothing is done to create one.
Jaron’s missed opportunity
Boots recently turned down a massive fight offer to move up to 154 to challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. for his interim WBC title at His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s Riyadh Season event on February 22. It’s the worst possible career move Ennis could have made.
“Who knows who Boots is? He was going around Philly and Miami. Everyone is familiar with the name Benn in the states. Ennis comes to England, nobody knows who he is,” Conor Benn told Fight Hub TV, revealing why he is not not interested in fighting Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
“If you say ‘big names,’ I don’t look at them. I look at Pacquiao, Broner, Kell Brook and Khan, people invested in personality. There’s not a lot of that (With Boots),” Benn said.
Conor is ranked #2 WBA, #2 WBC, #4 IBF, and #7 WBO at welterweight. Benn says he expects to challenge WBC 147-lb champion Mario Barrios (29-2-1, 15 KOs) in February 2025. It’s a winnable fight for Benn.
If he can get his hands on the WBC belt, there is a lot of money to be made in defending the title against the oldies, Manny Pacquiao, Adrien Broner, Amir Khan and Kell Brook. These are fights that sell in the UK, and His Excellency Turki Alalshikh might be interested in staging some of them in Riyadh.
Barrios is coming off a 12-round draw against Abel Ramos (28-6-3, 22 KOs) on June 15 on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
