Jaron Ennis Addresses Future Fight With Vergil Ortiz Jr., Prioritizes Undisputed Welterweight Status

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis says “one day” he and Vergil Ortiz Jr. could fight “in the future,” but he’s not ready to say when that’ll be. Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) is still focused on capturing all the belts at welterweight to become the undisputed champion before he moves up to 154.

Boxing fans on social media don’t believe Ennis. They think he’s just saying he’ll fight Vergil Jr. for clout purposes because if he really wanted to face him, he’d have accepted a career-high payday on the Riyadh Season card on February 22nd.

Ignoring the Money

The money he’d have made fighting Ortiz Jr. on that card is believed to dwarf what he’s getting for his unification fight against WBA welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis this Saturday night, April 12th, at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. Jaron could have fought Ortiz Jr., but instead, he’s chosen to stay at 147 and fight the smaller, weaker, less talented fighters.

Given the politics involved in making fights for belts, it could take years before Ennis captures the remaining belts and moves up to 154 for a fight against Vergil Jr. By then, Ortiz Jr. could move up to 160.

Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, must be frustrated at his unwillingness to move up to 154 to take fights that would bring in more money than what he’s getting by staying in the safety of 147, fighting the no-name guys. It’s not profitable for Hearn for Ennis to stay at 147 rather than go up to 154.

“One Day”

“For sure. I think one day, we could see us fighting in the future. But as of right now, I’m a 147-pounder, and he’s 154. So, when the time comes, we’ll see,” said Jaron Ennis to Ring Magazine when asked about whether he’ll ever fight Vergil Ortiz Jr.

“What people don’t realize is that when I was fighting at 147, I had an IBF secondary weigh-in for 2 1/2 and 3 years. I’ve been doing that for a while. I don’t have it this time. Hopefully, I’ll be the best I’ve ever been,” said Ennis about his unification fight against WBA welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis on Saturday.