Eddie Hearn Advises Boots Ennis To Move To 154, Ennis Disagree

Promoter Eddie Hearn says it would be “beneficial’ for Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis physically to move up to 154 because it’s become tough for him to make the 147-lb limit. However, Hearn states that Boots wants to stay at 147 while he can still make weight and fight the other champions.

Teofimo Lopez isn’t a champion, but it’s a big fight for Ennis. So, it’s one that makes sense for him to take while he’s waiting to get a chance to fight the other two welterweight champions.

Hearn Advises 154-Pound Move

“I think for Boots, we’ve talked about fighters that want legacy. All he wants to do is fight the champions, and I think physically, it would be more beneficial for him to move to 154, but he’s world champion at 147,” said Eddie Hearn to Fighthype about Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis needing to move up to junior middleweight from 147.

You can’t really say that Ennis only wants to “fight the champions” when he turned down a fight against WBC interim 154-lb champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. last February. Further, Boots could have sacrificed some of his purse to get the extra $500,000 that he needed to set up a unification fight against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. last September. Norman Jr. and his father wanted $2.2 million for the Boots fight, but they were offered $1.7 million.

Ennis could have given up some of his purse, and it would have happened. Champions do that from time to time to get the bigger fights that they want, which will help their career.

“While he can still make it, he just wants to fight the champions. Now, there’s a chance of potentially fighting Lopez. It’s not a champion, but I get the fight. It’s a great fight, and it’s a big profile fight,” said Hearn about Ennis.

Boots needs to set aside his goal of becoming undisputed for now and focus on what’s in front of him. The boxing public would prefer that Ennis move up, but he doesn’t want to. It’s risky at 154; they punch harder, and Ennis would no longer be the big fish in a small pond. Ultimately, that’s the likely real reason why Boots will stay at 147. It’s safer.

Ennis’s Limited 147 Options

“I think the only thing he’s concerned about is whether he can still perform. He doesn’t want to turn up one day and underperform. And that’s the only thing that’s affecting the factor is the weight cut. He hasn’t got many more, if any, at 147. While he’s there, he just wants to fight the champions. He’s a tremendous fighter. He’s in a great position right now coming off that performance. He’s got many years ahead of him. He only just turned 28. He’s a baby,” said Hearn about Boots Ennis.

The problem is, the other two champions at 147, Brian Norman and Mario Barrios, are busy right now. So, Ennis has no choice but to either wait or stay busy fightig Teofimo Lopez. If Boots doesn’t want to move up to 154 because he’s still hoping to achieve his goal of becoming undisputed champion at 147, Lopez may be his only option right now.