Eddie Hearn still can’t say for sure that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis will fight WBC Interim Junior Middleweight Champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. next. Matchroom promoter Hearn says, “Maybe” Ennis vs. Virgil Jr. will happen on February 22. He expects an announcement soon.
Ennis looked the picture of a mentally broken person after his recent fight against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9th. He had a thousand-yard blank stare and could tell that performance would haunt him every day.
That’s why it’s risky for Ennis to jump into the Vergil Jr. fight without rebuilding two or three confidence boosters.
The boot must decide
Ennis is still undecided on whether to accept the fight, signaling that he and his promoter, Hearn, are concerned about what might happen if he moves up to 154 to fight Vergil. Ennis looked really bad in his last fight against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9th and didn’t do well in the match before that against David Avanesian.
Boots is faced with a big decision: should he vacate his IBF featherweight title and move up to 154 or stay put, defending against a smaller opponent?
Whatever he decides, it will reflect his confidence. At this point, he seems to have lost faith in himself and will likely stay at 147 to continue defending his belt.
A move to 154 would mean that Ennis would be stepping into the unknown, which could be a disaster for him. Virgil Jr. can hit and Boots isn’t very hard to hit.
Not many people believe that Ennis would beat Vergil because he doesn’t look like he’s an elite level fighter right now. You can tell Hearn has lost faith in Ennis after watching his last two outings against Chouhadjian and Avanesian.
Hearn says Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) will decide if he wants to face the undefeated Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) next. He prefers the fight to take place at 147 for his IBF welterweight belt, but that’s not possible because Vergil, 26, is too big to fit into that category.
Vergil has struggled at 154 in his last three fights since 2022 and it would take too much for him to return to the division.
Announcement Coming soon
“Maybe,” Eddie Hearn said media when asked if the fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis on February 22. “We were in discussions. Obviously, Boots would rather fight at 147, but Vergil won’t fight there. He moved to 154.
“I think there will be an announcement for February 22 soon.” The problem is that today is Thanksgiving, which is not easy. It’s like trying to negotiate a deal with a British fighter at Christmas. We like the fight, but Boots has to make a decision.
“Do you get rid of the (IBF welterweight) belt or do you move? I don’t know which way it will go,” Hearn said.
