Eddie Hearn revealed today that an offer has been sent to #3 WBO Josh Kelly for a fight against Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis for a WBO 154-lb title eliminator.
Riyadh Money’s Impact
Hearn isn’t optimistic that Kelly (17-1-1, 9 KOs) will accept what he calls a “great offer” to face Boots (34-0, 30 KOs). He says Kelly, 31, got a “bit of that Riyadh Season money” for his fight against Ishmael Davis last September at Wembley Stadium in London.
Hearn feels that may make it difficult to get Kelly to agree to the Ennis fight. In other words, Josh Kelly has become spoiled after getting a nice payday to fight Davis.
Kelly is in a good spot to get a title shot against WBO junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas. Fighting Ennis would put Josh’s ranking at risk, and he won’t want to do that unless the offer from Hearn were better than what he could get fighting Zayas.
Top Rank, the promoters for the newly crowned WBO champion, Xander, have been cunning and calculated in how they’ve matched him during his short career. They’ll likely choose Josh Kelly as Zayas’ next opponent for his first defense because he’s an easy mark.
Hearn’s Skepticism
“We offered the fight to Josh Kelly yesterday. We’re talking. The problem is, Josh earned a lot of money fighting Ishmael Davis. It’s difficult because he got a bit of that Riyadh Season money. The offer is a great offer, but after the Riyadh Season fight,” said Hearn to iFL TV. “I like the fight. It could be a WBO final eliminator for Xander Zayas, but we’ll see.”
Hearn is likely going to have to find someone else for Boots Ennis’ debut at 154. There are other good contenders in the division, but many of them will want to be paid well to fight a talented guy like Ennis. They’re not going to take a fight like that unless they’re paid well above what they’ve been making.
