Promoter Eddie Hearn has named four champions at 154 that he’s targeting for Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) to fight next, following his first-round annihilation of Uisma Lima (14-2, 10 KOs) on Saturday night at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
(Credit: Emma Brawley Matchroom Boxing Fight)
The guy that Hearn has put at the top of his list for Ennis is Vergil Ortiz Jr. However, it’s not a good sign that he’s saying that Vergil’s promoters at Golden Boy aren’t responding to his calls about that fight. That’s a pretty big hint that they’re not interested, and who can blame them?
After watching the way Ennis destroyed Lima, why would Golden Boy want to match Vergil Jr. against him and risk having that done?
Hearn’s Five-Man Hit List
Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Xander Zayas
Abass Baraou
Sebastian Fundora
Bakhram Murtazaliev
Hearn also mentioned IBF and WBO middleweight champion Janibek Alimkhanuly. However, it’s unknown how serious he was when he floated his name. Ennis, 28, just moved up to 154 and faced what many boxing fans viewed as a tomato can, designed to make him look like gold: Lima.
Going from him to a fight against what many view as the King of the 160-lb division in Janibek might be a step too far for even ‘Boots.’
Fundora & Zayas in the Mix
“Murtazaliev, Fundora, Zayas, Abass, anyone with a belt,” said promoter Eddie Hearn during tonight’s post-fight press conference when asked who Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis could fight next if they can’t get Vergil Ortiz Jr. following his win over Uisma Lima.
The two easy ones for Hearn to get are IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev and WBA champion Abass Baraou. However, those are risky fights for Ennis because those guys can actually fight. They’re not tomato cans that he destroys like we saw him do against Lima tonight. Moreover, there’s little gain in fighting them. The casual boxing fans aren’t familiar with Abass and Murtazaliev. So, there’s no gain for ‘Boots’ to fight either of them.
Legacy Costs Money
“You have to pay the money and hope the people have the ambition to create a legacy to fight other champions and be the best in the game,” said Hearn when asked what makes him think Ennis can get fights that he needs when Terence Crawford couldn’t during much of his career.
It depends on how much Hearn wants to pay. You got to imagine that Ortiz Jr. would cost a lot, and it wouldn’t be worth it. The same with Fundorsa, and that’s a tough fight. It’s unlikely that Top Rank will let Ennis anywhere near WBO champion Xander Zayas. They’re trying to turn Xander into a money-making star in the East Coast, and they can’t do that if Ennis is going to knock him out.
Jeepers Isaac has been covering boxing since 2020, bringing readers sharp ringside insights and timely analysis on the sport’s biggest moments.
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