Eddie Hearn says IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis should fight one of the three 147-weight champions or move up to 154 to challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. at night in Philadelphia.
Ennis could make a lot of money fighting Vergil Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) in one of the events of the Riyadh Season and puts himself in a position to get many good fights in the 154-lb division. If Ennis stays at welterweight, he may never find any champion to fight. The bad thing about Boots moving up to 154 is that he could lose to Vergil, and that will hurt his popularity more than tonight’s fight against Chukhadzhian.
Boots Have a Big Choice to Make
Hearn says Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) has a “big decision to make” about where he wants to take his career. He feels that Ennis’ performance against Chudhadzhian (24-3, 13 KOs), which many fans felt was below his standards, was not good for him at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
The 10,000+ fans who showed up to watch Ennis were not happy with what they saw, as they were silent for most of the 12-round fight. They had nothing to be happy about because Chukhadzhian outplayed Ennis for almost the entire fight.
The highlights of Ennis’ fight were his fifth-round knockout and tenth-round submission of Chukhadzhian. Ennis won by scores of 119-107, 117-111, and 116-111.
Chukhadzhian got a clean shot and looked impressive with the technical skills he displayed. No one in the welterweight division has the talent that Chukhadzhian showed tonight. You are on another level of anyone at 147 or 140.
“Now, we have a big decision to make. I never like to give up world titles, but sometimes the time is right,” said Eddie Hearn during a post-fight press conference following Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ victory over Karen Chukhadzhian on Saturday night.
It’s an easy decision for Boots if he’s going to be given a big pay day by the Honorable Turki Alalshikh to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. in Riyadh. That’s a much better option than staying at welterweight and maybe not getting the unification fights he wants.
Ennis Can Increase His Popularity
“We can get a big offer to fight Vergil Ortiz in Saudi Arabia, and then from there, we will fight Jaron and Bozy. They will get my advice, but it is the boys who will make the decision. “For me, it’s the unity or Ortiz,” Hearn said.
“The reason why we fought Chukhadzhian tonight is because Boots wanted to fight for other titles at 147. We have to review that situation. We should look at the Vergil Ortiz option. We have to look at the financial package for that. Don’t forget. A win over Vergil Ortz on the Riyadh Season card would take his profile to the next level. So, it will be very tempting.
“It is a reasonable fight. Boots vs. Vergil Ortiz is one of the best fights to be made, not only in the division but in boxing. Two great young players,” said Hearn.
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It’s a big event @VergilOrtiz vs Ennis Boots— Oscar De La Hoya (@OscarDeLaHoya) November 10, 2024
