Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis WILL NOT fight WBC Interim Junior Middleweight Champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on the season ticket of His Excellency Turki Alalshikha in Riyadh on February 22.
Ennis-Ortiz Fight Off
Dan Rafael reports that the deal between Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) and Ortiz (22-0, 21 KOs 0 after they agreed) has fallen apart. No reason was given as to why the deal fell apart.
It’s not unexpected that the fight won’t happen as promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned in interviews on Thursday that Ennis’ promotion would potentially mean vacating the IBF light heavyweight title. He wanted to try to set up some unification fights against other 147-pound champions.
Was Ennis scared?
Some fans believe Ennis lacking confidence to fight young phenom Virgil Ortiz Jr., because he would be an underdog. Furthermore, it would be a tough fight for Ennis in his first match at 154. He doesn’t have great defensive skills, and he repeatedly hits a huge punch like Vergil Jr. it would not be a good experience for him.
Ennis looked unhappy after a tougher-than-expected 12-round unanimous decision win over Karen Chouhadjian in a rematch on Nov. 9 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia. Karen punched him a lot and knocked him out of the box during the fight. Ennis’ work rate and strength saved him from the loss, but he still looked bad.
In his last fight against Serhii Bohachuk, Virgil showed that he can do it all — punch, box and move. His ability to adapt was impressive in that fight. Ennis would likely lose to Vergil, derailing his promising career.
Fundora A possibility?
“The sides have agreed to the bout, which was to be part of the mega card Saudi Arabia’s Turki Alalshik is preparing for the season event in Riyadh on February 22. Friday’s fight fell through, leaving organizers looking for a new opponent to fight Ortiz, (according to) multiple sources,” Dan Rafael said on his substack site.
“The Saudis have contacted WBC/VBO junior middleweight promoter Sebastian Fundora, Sampson Levkowicz, to gauge their interest in the bout.
WBC and WBO Junior Middleweight Champion Sebastian Fundora would be a great option for Vergil Jr. fight on February 22 if a deal can be negotiated quickly. Fundora has plenty of time to prepare for the fight, provided he isn’t dealing with an injury or planning to fight someone.
If Ennis decides to stay at 147, he could be champion for a long time because the division is weak and he is considered the top dog down there. It would be great if Hearn could set up fights for Ennis to become the undisputed champion by defeating these three belt holders:
– Eimantas Stanionis: VBA
– Brian Norman Jr.: VBO
– Mario Barrios: VBC