Eddie Hearn says he’s been given his marching orders from Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to set up unification fights against the other belt-holders at 147. Hearn’s instructions from the unbeaten IBF welterweight champion Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) for 2025. It’s not looking good, though, because the champions want big money.
Hearn says Teofimo Lopez or a move up to 154 for a fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. is possible if a unification fight can’t be made for Ennis. We’ll see if either of those things will happen for Ennis in the new year.
It’s going to take some serious money from Hearn for him to lure any of the welterweight champions to fight Ennis.
Welterweight Greed?
Many of them are likely waiting and hoping that Turki Alalahikh will offer them a fight on his Riyadh Season cards. They would gladly fight for millions, making an easy defense against a soft opponent rather than losing their titles against Boots for little money.
“Are strict instructions from [Ennis] are, ‘I want to unify, and if I can’t unify, I’ll either move to 154 and fight [Vergil] Ortiz, or I could potentially fight Teofimo Lopez.’ I like the Lopez fight, but all he wants to do is unify,” said Eddie Hearn to Fight Hub TV about Jaron ‘Boots’s Ennis.
Boots may need to decide to move up or stay at 147 to face Teofimo soon because it doesn’t look promising for his promoter Hearn to set up the unification fights he’s pining away for. Turki could help Ennis’ situation, and we’ll see if that happens next year.
Ennis’s poor performance against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9th was another reason his popularity has failed to take off. Unlike other fighters like Gervonta Davis, Boots can’t fight anybody and expects fans to want to pay to see him.
147 or 154?
He needs the big fights that have so far eluded him. He would have helped himself if he’d taken the offer to move up to 154 to challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. for his belt. Ennis is still fixated on capturing the 147-lb belts.
He wants to follow in Terence Crawford’s footsteps, but it took him years to do it. Even then, it didn’t happen until he was in his mid-30s.
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