By Keith Idec
PHILADELPHIA – Eddie Hearn realizes Jaron Ennis have to be higher in each manner than he was Saturday evening if he’s to beat Vergil Ortiz Jr.
The unbeaten IBF welterweight champion would want to coach tougher and struggle smarter if Ennis agrees to oppose Ortiz subsequent in what can be an intriguing junior middleweight match. Ennis’ promoter stays assured, nonetheless, that the fighter nicknamed “Boots” is greater than able to defeating Ortiz, a knockout artist who owns the WBC interim tremendous welterweight title.
Now that Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs, 1 NC) has made a mandated title defence in opposition to Ukraine’s Karen Chukhadzhian (24-3, 13 KOs), Hearn expects Saudi Arabian struggle financier Turki Alalshikh to make a profitable provide for Ennis to maneuver up seven kilos for a struggle with Ortiz, which might happen within the Saudi capital of Riyadh. It’ll be as much as Ennis and his father/coach/supervisor, Derek “Bozy” Ennis, to determine whether or not to just accept that higher-profile struggle or proceed chasing welterweight title unification bouts.
“It is dependent upon the monetary bundle, is dependent upon what we wanna do long run, relies upon if we don’t wanna return to 147,” Hearn acknowledged throughout Ennis’ post-fight press convention. “You realize, the rationale that we fought Chukhadzhian tonight was as a result of Boots had a want to seize the opposite championships at 147. So, we gotta overview that place, we’ve gotta have a look at the choice in opposition to Vergil Ortiz, we gotta have a look at the monetary bundle for that struggle as effectively.
“As a result of, as effectively, don’t neglect, you already know, a win over somebody like Vergil Ortiz, on a Riyadh Season card, is gonna take his profile to a different stage. So, it’s gonna be very tempting. And, by the way in which, it’s a superb struggle, a superb struggle. I imply, Boots in opposition to Vergil Ortiz is among the finest fights on the market to be made, not simply within the division, however in boxing – two great younger fighters.”
It’s nonetheless essential to Ennis to grow to be boxing’s second undisputed welterweight champion of the four-belt period. Attaining that objective would require him to beat WBO champ Brian Norman (26-0, 20 KOs), WBA champ Eimantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs, 1 NC) and the winner between WBC champ Mario Barrios (29-2, 18 KOs) and Abel Ramos (28-6-2, 22 KOs) on the Jake Paul-Mike Tyson undercard at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
Ennis can also be open, in keeping with his post-fight feedback Saturday evening, to transferring as much as field Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs), of Grand Prairie, Texas.
“Like I at all times say, I wanna struggle the most effective,” Ennis stated. “I don’t attempt to struggle simple, no bottom-tier guys. You realize, if you struggle the most effective, you gonna be higher.”
Philadelphia’s Ennis wasn’t higher in his rematch with Chukhadzhian than he was when he shut out Chukhadzhian on all three scorecards, 120-108 apiece, in January 2023 on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia undercard at Capital One Area in Washington, D.C. A extra aggressive Chukhadzhian hit him way more throughout their second 12-rounder, throughout which Ennis carried out sloppily and didn’t defend himself effectively whereas urgent for a knockout at instances in a primary occasion DAZN streamed from Wells Fargo Heart.
Ennis nonetheless received comfortably, in keeping with judges Dave Braslow (119-107), Eric Marlinski (117-109) and Steve Weisfeld (116-110), who respectively scored 11, 9 and eight rounds for the closely favoured champion. Hearn envisions a extra motivated, sharper Ennis if he had been to battle Barrios, Ramos, Norman, Stanionis or Ortiz.
“In opposition to Barrios, in opposition to Stanionis, in opposition to Norman, it’s gonna be totally different,” Hearn stated. “And in opposition to Ortiz it’s gonna be totally different. And the efficiency has received to be totally different, as a result of he is aware of and Bozy is aware of that efficiency may not be adequate to beat a kind of guys. However it is going to be a distinct efficiency from Boots in opposition to a kind of guys. Don’t fear about that, however now we received a extremely massive choice to make.
“I by no means like giving up world titles, however generally the time is correct. And, you already know, we might get a considerable provide to struggle Vergil Ortiz in Saudi Arabia. After which, from there, it’s on Jaron and Bozy. That’s it. And he’ll get my recommendation, however these are the blokes that can make the choice. However, for me, I feel it’s solely unification or Ortiz. That’s it.”
