Eddie Hearn says IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis should either fight a unification fight against one of the other three champions at 147 or move to 154 to challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. for his interim WBC title following Ennis’ win over Karen Chukhadzhian last Saturday. night in Philadelphia.
(Credit: Amanda Westcott Matchroom Boxing)
Ennis can make a lot of money fighting Vergil Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) in one of the events of the Riyadh Season and puts himself in position to get a lot of big fights in the 154-lb division. If Ennis stays at welterweight, he may never have any of the champions to fight. The downside of Boots going all the way to 154 is that he could lose to Vergil, and that will hurt his popularity more than tonight’s fight against Chukhadzhian.
Boots has a big decision to make
Hearn says Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) has a “big decision to make” about what direction he wants to take with his career. He feels that Ennis’ performance against Chudhadzhian (24-3, 13 KOs), which many fans feel was far below his standards, was not a great one for him at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
The more than 10,000 fans who showed up to watch Ennis weren’t thrilled with what they saw, as they were quiet for most of the 12-round fight. They had nothing to rejoice because Chukhadzhian was outboxing Ennis almost the entire fight.
The best moments in the fight for Ennis were his fifth round and the deduction of points taken by Chukhadzhian to keep it in ten rounds. Ennis won with scores of 119-107, 117-111, and 116-111.
Chukhadzhian landed the cleanest shots and looked amazing with the technical skills he showed. No one in the welterweight division has the talent that Chukhadzhian showed tonight. It’s on another level of someone at 147 or 140.
“Now, we have a big decision to make. I never liked to give up world titles, but sometimes the time is right,” said Eddie Hearn during the press conference after the fight following Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ win over Karen Chukhadzhian on Saturday night.
It’s an easy decision for Boots if he’s going to be offered a massive payday by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. in Riyadh. That’s a much better option than staying at welterweight and possibly not getting the unification fights he wants.
Ennis can increase his popularity
“We can get a substantial offer to fight Vergil Ortiz in Saudi Arabia, and from there, it’s on Jaron and Bozy. They really have my advice, but these are the guys who make the decision. For me, it’s either unification or Ortiz” , Hearn said.
“The reason we fought Chukhadzhian tonight is Boots had a desire to fight other championships at 147. We will review that position. We will see the option for Vergil Ortiz. We will see the financial package for that. Do not A win over Vergil Ortz on a Riyadh Season card will take his profile to another level.
“It’s a brilliant fight. Boots against Vergil Ortiz is one of the best fights to be made, not only in the division but in boxing. Two tremendous young fighters,” said Hearn.
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Main event @VergilOrtiz vs Boots Ennis— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) November 10, 2024
