IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) faces WBA champion Imantas Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) in a two-fight unification clash live on DAZN from Boardwalk Hall on April 12th at 147 New Jersey. in Atlantic City.
Can Ennis be brilliant?
The 27-year-old Ennis is stepping away from becoming the IBF welterweight champion in November 2023 for this unification bout. This fight requires an impressive display of boots, as she has looked average in her last four fights against Karen Chukhadjian x 2. , David Avanessian and Roiman Villa.
You could say this is Boots’ first test, but after his last fight against Chukhadjian, it’s hard to imagine a more brutal matchup. He made Karen look like a mini-Arthur Beterbiev in the way he was taking punishment from the Ukrainian fighter in their rematch on November 9th at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
If Stanionis is a better fighter than Karen, Jaron could lose this fight on April 12 and make Eddie Hearn regret signing him.
Ennis’ decision to turn down a big payday in a fight against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Virgil Ortiz Jr. on the Feb. 22 Riyadh Season card makes the fact that he shines against Stanionis all the more critical.
Boxing fans think Boots is a fighter who lacks ambition and confidence after being schooled twice by Chukhadjian.
Stanionis is coming off a 12-round unanimous decision stoppage over Gabriel Maestre on May 4 of last year. Ennis has looked better in any of his last four contests.
Listen: “It’s #1 vs. #2”
“It’s a simply brilliant fight,” said promoter Eddie Hearn. “When we signed Boots, I told him we’d deliver the integration for him, so it’s great for Jaron to cross that line, and I know with the biggest fight of his career ahead of him, he’ll be brighter than ever. Aimantas is a brilliant fighter, and is undoubtedly #1 and #2 in the category.”
Stanionis is viewed as #2 in the division, but WBO champion Brian Norman Jr. and WBC champion Mario Barrios could be better. None of these guys have taken on a good enough opponent in the division to call #1 or #2.
Ennis has made up his mind that he wants to stay at 147 until the bitter end and try to become the undisputed champion, however long that takes. Some would argue that this is foolish and slowing Boots’ career, but the alternatives could be worse. If Ennis goes up to 154, he’ll have to contend with the killers in that division, who hit more defensively than him.
“I feel great. I’m finally getting a chance to fight for a world title. As I said before I became champion, I never got a chance to fight for a world title,” said Jaron Ennis. YSM Sports MediaA response to his unifying clash against Stanionis is being announced today.
“Now, I’ve had my chance, and I’m going to assemble and collect these belts. That’s what I wanted. I feel good; I feel great about it. I’m excited, and I feel like I can’t leave the department without getting what I want.
“I think that’s what I want. It’s going to be a crazy ride. I’m going to put on a show and have fun and get back to being me. I don’t know, and I really don’t care. I don’t pay attention to that sort of thing,” Boots was asked if this fight with Stanionis would quiet the critics.
