IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) is reportedly finalizing a unification fight against WBA belt holder Eimantas Stanionis (15-1, 9 KOs) on a Matchroom-promoted show on DAZN on April 12 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The ring reports that Ennis vs. Stanionis is close to the finale. However, hosting the fight in Atlantic City is an odd location as there aren’t many boxing events there these days. It would make more sense for the fight to take place in Boots’ hometown of Philadelphia, but considering how bad he looked in his last fight against Karen Chukhadzhian, it might be better that it takes place in Atlantic City.
Ennis’ search for the undisputed
Boots has received a lot of criticism from fans for turning down a fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. at 154 and instead staying at 147 to continue working toward his goal of becoming the undisputed welterweight champion.
Ennis, 27, has the right promoter, Eddie Hearn, to make his dream come true but it still seems a waste. The three champions Jaron must defeat, Stanionis, Mario Barrios and Brian Norman Jr., are not household names in the United States
Terence Crawford’s popularity skyrocketed when he defeated Errol Spence to become undisputed welterweight champion in 2023, but he was a star. Boots won’t have that because the three champions he would fight are completely unknown to casual fans.
‼️ Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs. Eimantas Stanionis is now all but finalized for a fight to unify the WBA and IBF welterweight world titles on April 12 at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey, The Ring has learned. pic.twitter.com/JM3dQa8xuT
— Ring Magazine (@ringmagazine) January 19, 2025
“It’s time for Boots to get in the ring with someone,” Tim Bradley told the State of boxingand scolds Jaron Ennis for going his entire nine-year pro career without fighting an A-level fighter. “He had a lot of opportunities to get in the ring with a lot of guys, especially Vergil Ortiz, but he chose not to.”
Boots under fire
Jaron Ennis put in a poor performance in his rematch against his IBF mandatory Karen Chukhadjian on Nov. 9 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Karen made Ennis look really bad in this fight by outsmarting him and pummeling him with slapshots all night long; Without Chukhadzhian’s gassings in the championship rounds, Ennis would have lost. If Hearn had struck a deal with WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. for a unification fight, Boots could have temporarily avoided the rematch with Karen. He still would have had to fight, but that could have delayed it and prevented his stock from plummeting to all-time lows.
Additionally, Ennis made matters worse by turning down a career-high payday to challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. for his WBC interim junior middleweight title on the Artur Beterbiev vs. Dmitry Bivol 2 card on February 22 in Riyadh.
This event will be shown on DAZN PPV and it would have been one perfect vehicle so that Ennis can increase his star power with just one fight. A win against Vergil Jr. would have done far more to make Ennis a global superstar than him becoming an undisputed champion at 147 by defeating three little-known champions. Is it fear on Ennis’ part? Or was it a lack of ambition that led him to turn down the fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr.?
I can see which promoter Eddie Hearn is against trying to turn Jaron Ennis into a star. Boots makes it difficult for him to become a star with his clumsy movements.
