Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis claims he didn’t know what was going on with the Vergil Ortiz Jr. situation. when he chose not to agree to fight with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s February 22 Riyadh Season card.
In an interview, Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) initially said it was a “miscommunication,” and he wasn’t in the loop for Vergil Jr.’s talks. However, in the same interview, Ennis admitted that he chose not to fight Ortiz because he wanted to stay at 147 and try to unify the division.
Interestingly, when Boots was asked about his previous remarks about being willing to go up to 154 to fight Terence Crawford, he said it’s different because he’s a future Hall of Famer. Then, he moved up to 154, but it would be a massive fight against Crawford.
Fans still think that Ennis outclassed Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs), considering he would have had a big payday and increased his chances of fighting Crawford.
If Boots moved up to junior middleweight, he would at least have a chance to get that fight. Staying at 147 does not give him any opportunity because he is in a different weight class, fighting less popular fighters.
“Out of the Loop”
“I reached out to everyone involved to get to the bottom of what was happening and it was a lot of miscommunication. I had a great team, and I hired them to do their job, but I just felt that I was out of the loop From now on, I’ll be more in tune with what’s going on,” said Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to YSM Sports Mediastating that he did not know what was going on when with the fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. which he chose not to take.
“They called the deadline (for the February 22 card), and I was undecided,” said Ennis about why he didn’t take the fight with Vergil Jr. “I want to unify or be undisputed. Everyone called me ‘e-mail champion’ because I was never able to take a title from someone. I was given a belt. I never had that feeling of winning a world title and taking it from anyone,” said Boots.
That sounds weak from Ennis, who says he wants to stay at 147 because he has NEVER won a world title from anyone and was emailed his IBF belt. The problem is that the other three welterweight champions are highly regarded. They are seen as paper champions with no fan base and it won’t help Boots’ popularity if he beats them.
Another problem is that all the champions are tied to 147, and they don’t go free. If they become available, Boots promoter Eddie Hearn would need to meet his asking price. He did not do this with WBO champion Brian Norman Jr., Mario Barrios, or WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis. If Ennis stays at 147 in 2025, it’s possible that Hearn won’t be able to set up a unification fight for him.
“Terence Crawford is a future Hall of Famer,” Ennis said, when asked why he would be willing to go up to 154 to fight Crawford if given the chance, but NOT Vergil Ortiz Jr. “It’s the same thing he’s trying to take Canelo. . Going up to 168 and just fighting Canelo, but nobody at 168. It’s the same thing.
If Ennis is willing to move up to 154 to fight Crawford, he should be moved to fight Vergil because it looks bad that he chose not to fight on Turki’s February 22nd card.
Validation at 147
“2025, my next fight is a unification. Like I said before. I’m going to get my hands on one of those belts (at 147),” said Ennis. “I had that feeling of taking a belt from somebody. I haven’t felt that feeling, and I feel like that’s what I need for my career and my legacy.
“I need that feeling of taking a belt from somebody. I feel like I’m going to stamp. I feel better about myself at 147,” Ennis said.
