Promoter Eddie Hearn defended his choice of Uisma Lima for his Matchroom fighter, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, to fight in his debut at 154 on October 11th in Philadelphia.
Hearn pointed out that Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) is ranked in the top 10 by three of the four organizations at junior middleweight. He says his only loss to Aaron McKenna came when he took the fight on five days’ notice.
Fans Criticize Hearn’s Choice
Fans have criticized Hearn’s pick, saying that he could have chosen Jesus Ramos, Israil Madrimov, or Serhii Bohachuk. Instead, he focused on the slow, easy-to-hit Lima, whose record is inflated with victories over 14 unknown opponents, dug up from various parts of the world.
Lima is ranked #9 IBF, #9 WBC, and #10 WBA at 154. However, there are a lot of badly flawed contenders ranked about him. So, it doesn’t mean anything that he’s ranked in the top 10.
“It’s a great fight. You’ve got a guy in the top 10 with three governing bodies,” said Eddie Hearn to The Stomping Grounds, talking about Uisma Lima. “He’s been on the road in his last three fights, beating undefeated fighters.”
Being ranked in the top 10 isn’t what it’s cracked up to be in any weight class, especially at 154. If you’re not ranked in the top five at 154, you’re flawed. Even being ranked in the top five doesn’t mean much. Josh Kelly and Jorge Garcia are both top 5 and journeymen-level fighters, talent-wise. Uisma Lima’s one-sided defeat against Aaron McKenna in 2022 showed his limitations as a fighter.
Eddie’s Search for 147-lb Opponents
“We could have chosen people that didn’t even come to win. We offered eight fighters the fight,” said Hearn. “Everyone talks about wanting it [Rashidi Ellis, Abel Ramos, and Josh Kelly], and they just priced themselves so wildly out of the fight because they know how good ‘Boots’ is.”
Hearn was combing the 147-lb ranks for opponents for Ennis to get him acclimated to 154, and he wasn’t aiming high. Welterweight Abel Ramirez has six losses on his resume. Ellis is another marginal 147-lb fighter. The real question is, why was Hearn scouring the welterweight division in search of opponents to help prepare ‘Boots’ for 154? The only reason you’d pick them is to make Ennis look better than he is.
“I wanted someone at 154 that is a true 154, not a 147-pounder that’s moved up, who will come to win, that is really, really tough. And that is Lima,” said Hearn. “He’s a good fighter. It’s not an easy fight. When you talk about the other fighters that we were talking to. Ellis, Lima beats him. [Brian] Mendoza, Lima beats him.”
Mendoza has lost two out of his last three fights. So, it’s not a big deal that Lima would beat him. I don’t know that he would. As bad as Aaron McKenna defeated Lima, Mendoza would as well.
The Fighters Hearn Should Have Picked
- Jesus Ramos Jr
- Serhii Bohachuk
- Israil Madrimov
- Charles Conwell
- Erickson Lubin
- Yoenis Tellez
- Tim Tszyu
Lima’s Short-Notice Loss to McKenna
“This is a guy [Lima] that has lost once on four days’ notice or five days’ notice [to Aaron McKenna by a one-sided 10-round unanimous decision],” said Hearn about Lima. “This is a tough young man that is coming with plenty of spirit, and I need someone to test ‘Boots’ at 154 before we dive into all of the big fights.”
The reason Lima lost to McKenna wasn’t due to his taking the fight on five days’ notice. He was beaten because he was outclassed from the get-go. Hearn is being disengenuous when he blames Uisma’s defeat against McKenna on his taking the fight on short notice. You could see from the first round that he was over his head. Lima was too slow, and McKenna wasn’t falling for his simplistic feints.
“Yeah, of course,” said Hearn when asked if Lima is being used to prepare Ennis for Vergil Ortiz Jr. “There’s nothing wrong with a young guy [28-years-old] like ‘Boots’ having a fight at 154 against a guy that is top 10 in the world. But people want to moan. Let’s see. The proof is in the pudding.
“I bet you Lima gives us a great fight on October 11th, and he will come full of energy and full of desire, and that’s what we want,” said Hearn.
A Predictable Mismatch for ‘Boots’ Ennis
Predictably, this is going to be a complete whitewash with Ennis dominating Lima. However, instead of Hearn revisiting his earlier comments by admitting that he was wrong by overselling Uisma Lima, he’ll bang on about how great Ennis is. He won’t admit that he got it wrong by selecting
Last Updated on 08/14/2025
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