Boots Ennis’ Career Stalled? Critics Say Eddie Hearn Is Babying Him With Uisma Lima Matchup

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis alerted his fans today, reminding them of his fight in 14 days against Uisma Lima in a WBA junior middleweight title eliminator on October 11 at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. DAZN will stream the event at 8:00 p.m. ET / 5:00 p.m. PT.

Jaron Ennis vs Uisma Lima Preview

Interestingly, Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) labels Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) as a “big name” despite his limited credentials and the negative view that fans and the media hold of him. Lima isn’t rated highly for two reasons:

1. Lack of wins over quality opposition
2. One-sided defeat to Aaron McKenna: Lima was beaten by McKenna by a 10-round unanimous decision on June 16, 2023. The scores were 98-92, 98-93, and 100-91.

Fans Question Eddie Hearn’s Matchmaking

Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn missed the boat with this selection of Lima, as he didn’t recognize what the negative reaction would be from fans ahead of time when he chose him as ‘Boots’ Ennis’ opponent.

While Hearn said that Lima was a “Fine choice,” fans and the media reacted differently, viewing it as a further sign of ‘Boots’ being babied by the promoter in the same way Shakur Stevenson and Edgar Berlanga were when they were with him.

Is Jaron Ennis Wasting His Prime?

None of them were thrown to the wolves to show how harsh life could be in their respective divisions. Ennis is getting the same pampered treatment, and it’s disappointing. Basically, ‘Boots’ career is being stalled, and he’s not young at 28 to be still matched against lesser fighters.

October 11 Philadelphia Fight Night

• Khalil Coe vs. Jesse Hart
• Alexis Barriere vs. Guido Vianello
• Jose Roman vs. Tahmir Smalls

“Lima’s a decent test, but he’s not world-class, and that’s where the criticism comes in. Ennis has the tools to be a boogeyman at 154—speed, power, and ring IQ—but he needs to face champions,” said boxing analyst Chris Aligeri to Boxingscene.

Algieri is right. Uisma, 32, isn’t quite world-class, at least not based on his weak opposition and his defeat by Aaron McKenna in 2023. With Hearn’s money and clout as a promoter, he should have gotten someone better for Ennis to fight in his debut at 154 that would help him prepare for the top rung of the division. Even if Hearn didn’t want to match Ennis’ tough right off the bat, he at least could have dug up one of these fighters:

• Israil Madrimov
• Abass Barou
• Yoenis Tellez
• Brandon Adams

Stay-Busy Fight for Boots Ennis

“Ennis vs. Lima feels like a stay-busy fight, and that’s a bit disappointing given the buzz around his 154 debut,” said journalist Steve Kim to ESPN.

It feels like a ‘stay-busy fight’ for ‘Boots’ Ennis, with him matched against Lima. This is arguably a step down from Ennis’ recent fights against Eimantas Stanionis and Karen Chukhadzhian.