Eddie Hearn still can’t say for certain that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis will fight WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. next. The Matchroom promoter Hearn says, “Maybe” the Ennis vs. Vergil Jr. clash will happen on February 22nd. He expects an announcement soon.
Ennis looked like the picture of a mentally shattered person after his recent fight against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9th. He had a vacant thousand-yard stare and could tell that he was going to be haunted by that performance daily.
That’s why it’s risky for Ennis to jump into the Vergil Jr. fight without a rebuild job of two or three confidence boosters.
Boot’s Must Decide
Ennis still hasn’t decided if he’ll take the fight, which signals that he and his promoter, Hearn, are worried about what could happen if he moves up to 154 to fight Vergil. Ennis looked really bad in his last fight against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9th and didn’t perform well in his match before that against David Avanesyan.
Boots is faced with a big decision: Should he vacate his IBF welterweight title and move up to 154 or stay where he’s at, defending against lesser opposition?
Whatever he decides, it will reflect his self-confidence. At this point, it looks like he’s lost his self-belief and will likely stay at 147 to continue to defend his belt.
Moving up to 154 would mean that Ennis would be stepping into the unknown, which could be a disaster for him. Vergil Jr. can punch, and Boots is not exactly difficult to hit.
Few people believe Ennis would be victorious against Vergil because he doesn’t look like he’s an elite-level fighter right now. You can tell that Hearn has lost faith in Ennis after watching his last two performances against Chukhadzhian and Avanesyan.
Hearn states that Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) will decide if he wants to face the unbeaten Ortiz Jr. (22-0, 21 KOs) next. He prefers the fight occur at 147 for his IBF welterweight belt, but that’s not possible because Vergil, 26, is too big to melt down to that weight class.
Vergil has been fighting at 154 for his last three fights since 2022, and it would take too much of him to return to the division.
Announcement Soon
“Maybe,” said Eddie Hearn to the media when asked if the Vergil Ortiz Jr. vs. Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis fight will be happening on February 22nd. “We have been in discussions. Obviously, Boots would rather fight at 147, but Vergil won’t fight there. He moved to 154.
“I think there will be an announcement very soon for February 22nd. The problem is it’s Thanksgiving today, which is not easy. It’s like me trying to negotiate a deal with a UK fighter on Christmas Day. We like the fight, but Boots has to make a decision.
“Do you get rid of the [IBF welterweight] belt, or do you move? I don’t know which way he’s going to go,” said Hearn.
