Boots Ennis Promises KO In 154 Debut Vs. Lima

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is vowing to make a “statement” in his debut at 154 against Uisma Lima on October 11 on DAZN from the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. That venue was formerly known as the Wells Fargo Center, but it has since been renamed.

The Pressure of a Tune-Up

The former IBF and WBO welterweight champion Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) has a lot of pressure to look impressive because he’s chosen an obscure fighter, and not one of the better-known guys. Fans wanted ‘Boots’ to take on one of the top guys right away, but he and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, have opted to use #9 IBF and #9 WBA Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) as a tune-up.

With Hearn recently mentioning that he wants Ennis to face Terence Crawford in a “changing of the guard” type of fight, it puts pressure on his fighter to immediately face high-level opposition rather than taking one or two tune-ups.

Hearn is targeting the Vergil Ortiz Jr. fight for Ennis in early 2026, as long as they both win their interim fights this year. Ortiz Jr. is fighting Erickson Lubin on November 8 in Fort Worth, Texas.

Boots Ennis Promises Explosive KO

“I’m ready to make a big statement in the 154 division,” said Ennis to Matchroom’s Flash Knockdown podcast. “With the extra seven pounds, I’m feeling great—every time I want to put on a better performance. 154 is mine.

It’s not the type of fight that Ennis can afford to look bad in, like he did in his rematch with Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9, 2024. That was an embarrassingly bad performance by Ennis, getting outboxed for long stretches by Chukhadzhia, who fought like a Ukrainian version of Floyd Mayweather Jr. in that contest.

“They’re going to see. When I handle business on October 11th, you’re going to see. It’s going to be an explosive knockout,” said Ennis.

With the comparison with Terence Crawford that is being done, fans had expected Ennis to follow in his footsteps by immediately fighting for a world title in his first fight at 154, the way he did in 2024.