Missed Opportunity Plaguing Ennis? His Choice To Face Stanionis Over Vergil Jr. Breeds Fan Disinterest

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis sees his headliner fight against Eimantas Stanionis as his “superstar breakout” fight that will take his career to the next level this Saturday, April 12th, on DAZN at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

The Fight He Avoided

IBF welterweight champion Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) might be deceiving himself because his unification clash against WBA champ Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) hasn’t created any buzz with fans. As far as fans go, it’s like a dead weekend coming up, and Boots, 27, isn’t being talked about much.

Ennis has the wrong opponent for this to be a “breakout” fight that would launch him into superstardom. He shouldn’t have turned down the fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. last February. Choosing to play it safe, staying in hiding at 147 to fight the champions in this weight class is working against Boots’ goal of becoming a superstar.

Ennis’s last fight against Karen Chukhadzhian may have destroyed him internally because his rejection of what would have been a career-high payday against Vergil has hurt his popularity. Fans don’t care that Boots is fighting Stanionis because they’re focusing on Ennis’s poor performance against Karen and his rejection of a fight against Vergil Jr.

Boots can’t make fans forget his last fight against Karen and his refusal to fight Ortiz Jr. by facing the non-popular WBA belt-holder Eimantas Stanionis this Saturday night on DAZN. That makes Ennis look weak-minded.

Superstar Dreams

“I’m focusing on Stanionis. After that, I’m taking it one fight at a time. After I’m victorious on April 12th, we’ll see. I’ll take it from there,’ said Jaron Ennis to Figthhype when asked if his goal is still to become undisputed at 147. “I’m going to put on a show and have my fun.

“I finally got what I wanted, a unification. I’m super excited about bringing home these belts. This is my superstar breakout right here. After I beat Stanionis, I feel like I’m on the pound-for-pound list.  If I can’t get these unifications, then I’ll move up,” said Boots Ennis.