Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’s Disappointing List of Opponents for October Tune-Up: An Analysis of Rashidi Ellis, Charles Conwell, and Andreas Katzourakis

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ team has sent out offers to four fighters for his tune-up fight in October. Most of the names are disappointing ones. Promoter Eddie Hearn had already revealed that Josh Kelly is one they’d made an offer to. However, Kelly said it was a lowball offer.

Boots’ Unnecessary Tune-Up Fight

Fans don’t understand why Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) would need a tune-up, due to the hype behind his career. He should be able to jump right into the 154-lb division immediately and begin fighting the top guys. That’s what Terence Crawford did at the ripe age of 36 last year against Israil Madrimov. It almost cost him, but he still did it.

The Jaron Ennis Opponent List

• Rashidi Ellis: Still fighting at welterweight, Ellis (27-1, 18 KOs) has won his last fights against low-level opposition since losing to Roiman Villa in 2023. This pick would make no sense for Boots to fight because he’s not a junior middleweight. It defeats the purpose of using him as a tune-up to acclimate himself to the 154-pound division unless this is really about getting an easy payday.
• Charles Conwell: Of the four, Conwell (27-1, 16 KOs) is arguably the most talented one of the bunch, but he’s also coming off a loss to Jorge Garcia. It would look bad on Ennis’s part to fight a guy who just lost. Again, this might not be about Ennis getting his feet wet in the 154-lb division.
• Josh Kelly: We already know this fight isn’t happening. An offer was made and rejected by Kelly and his team. Hearn pointed out that Kelly had gotten some of the Riyadh Season money, and he was doubtful about his chances of this fight happening for Ennis. It would be a weak choice anyway.
• Andreas Katzourakis: Unbeaten with a 16-0 record, Katzourakis has a recent win over Brandon Adames. He’s not a great choice if the purpose is to prepare Ennis to fight the likes of Vergil Ortiz Jr.

Credit: Brunch Boxing.

Why Does Ennis Need a Tune-Up?

The problem with Ennis taking a tune-up is that his whole career has been nothing but warm-up fights against lesser fighters without him stepping up once to fight better opposition.