Ennis’ Big Announcement
Current IBF welterweight world champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis has signed with Matchroom. The champion became a free agent following the collapse of Showtime as a boxing promotion and has finally found a new home. Before the signing Eddie Hearn had expressed interest in signing Ennis and has followed through.
The signing was announced on social media by Matchroom and Ennis himself. This is hardly surprising given Ennis losing his previous promotion and Hearn’s interest in the champion. This is a big signing for Matchroom gaining a strong foothold at welterweight with a young, athletic, skilled champion. Boots is also known for his exciting style with a knockout percentage of over 90% making him very promotable. The signing also continues to fulfill Hearn’s ambitions of expanding Matchroom globally. The announcement said that the signing is for a “multi-fight deal” suggesting a long term partnership .
The Future of Jaron Ennis
Following the announcement Hearn has been praising Ennis and stating his intentions in an interview with DAZN. Hearn called Ennis “the best welterweight in the world” very strong praise considering unified champion and pound for pound star Terence Crawford is in the same division. Crawford put on a masterclass against former unified champion Errol Spence becoming undisputed at welterweight however was soon stripped by the IBF for not facing Jaron Ennis his mandatory. This resulted in Ennis’ elevation to full champion. Regarding match ups Hearn said, “I hope Terence Crawford can come back to 147 and make that fight”. This would be the best fight that you could make in the division and the winner would become undisputed.
Thoughts from Eddie Hearn
The Matchroom promoter emphasised,”you have to build him up” which makes sense as a way to build Ennis’ profile and experience before a potential mega-fight against Crawford. Hearn also said Ennis, “has a mandatory we’re going to get that dusted off ASAP June time back in Philadelphia”. So, likely we will have a fight announcement soon and a homecoming for Ennis. Eddie emphasised wanting to “keep him active” and to “let him become undisputed at 147” outlining a clear goal.This should be achievable Crawford seemingly moving up to 154 so will be stripped resulting in vacant titles. Ennis should be able to secure vacant title fights or unifications if mandatories and interim champions are elevated to champions.
Hearn in full promoter mode also said, “I want to see him be undisputed for 47, 54, and 60”. He followed up on this saying, “he has the ability to do it”. That is very ambitious with the quality of fighters in those divisions but it’s not out of reach. Ennis has a very high ceiling and we look forward to seeing him in action.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
