Boots Ennis: Is 154 the only path to a world title?

Coach Stephen Edwards says Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis doesn’t shy away from anyone. He thinks it’s things “that happen behind the scenes, and his promoters are trying to figure out what they can get for him at 147.

(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)

IBF welterweight champion Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) isn’t helping himself by turning down fights against interim WBC junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Teofimo Lopez. They would have been huge for Boots.

Boots could have fought Vergil on the Turki Al-Shiekh card on February 22 in Riyadh, and it would have been a big payday for him. Fans believe that Ennis avoided Vergil Jr and did not want to face the risky match for fear of being beaten.

Boots’ decision not to fight Vergil Jr. comes at a bad time for him. She just had a terrible performance against Karen Chukhadzhian in the rematch on Nov. 9, and some think her confidence is gone.

The ducking debate

“There are fighters who hide behind their management to not fight fighters, but I don’t think that applies to him,” Stephen Edwards told YSM Sports Media regarding his belief that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is not shying away from Boys.

“I don’t think he’s dodging anyone. I just think there’s a lot of stuff going on behind the scenes, and they’re just trying to figure out who they can bring into the ring, and he knows his days are 147,” Stephen continued regarding “Boots.”

“I don’t think he’s saying, ‘I’m afraid to fight this guy.’ I just think a lot of things business-wise aren’t going very well for him. He’s got a lot to do. His team just needs to get those guys in the ring,” Edwards said.

Boots obviously doesn’t avoid anyone at 147 because there’s no one talented enough for him to want to avoid them. But it certainly appears he avoided WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. when that bout was offered to him recently. Ennis said he would like to stay at 147 to unify, but his situation there is not promising.

Ennis reportedly turned down a record-breaking payday to fight Vergil Jr. for his career on Feb. 22, which seems bad of him.

Edwards’ defense

“If he gets a unification against Brian Norman or a fight against Mario Barrios. Every time I see Conor Benn, they keep talking about Barrios. So, I know there’s some sort of conflict when you have a guy who’s in your promotional stable, and a guy [Benn] he’s trying to argue.

“It must be tough for Boots. If Conor Benn gets Mario Barrios to fight and Boots wants to unify, it’s going to be tough,” Edwards said.

If Ennis promoter Eddie Hearn chooses to set up a fight between Conor Benn and WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios rather than help him with a unification against Barrios, you can understand why that would upset him if he’s following what’s going on.

Boots said he didn’t know what happened when he was offered the fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr. at 154. Jaron was talking about what was going on behind the scenes without him realizing it. If Boots management doesn’t keep him updated, they will be surprised if Conor Benn fights Barrios in his place.

If Conor wins that fight, Ennis will have to think about moving up to 154 because it means he will likely never have a chance of achieving his goal of becoming undisputed at 147.

Assuming Conor wins against Barrios, he would use the WBC title for a big-money fight against Manny Pacquiao rather than face Ennis. He won’t fight him because his chances of success would be slim and he could earn more by retaining the WBC title to use it to lure the 45-year-old Pacquiao. That belt will be the bait to attract Manny.