Physical Address
304 North Cardinal St.
Dorchester Center, MA 02124
Eddie Hearn says Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ first priority is to go all out in his next unification fight, not face Teofimo Lopez.
Matchroom promoter Hearn says that if he can’t arrange a deal for Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) to face WBC light heavyweight champion Mario Barrios or WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis, he will consider arranging a fight with Teofimo and Ennis. It would be a joint PPV match on DAZN and ESPN.
Teofimo On hold
Fans have been eagerly awaiting Boots, who will face Teofimo Lopez next. They will be disappointed if Ennis decides to fight unification against Barrios or Stanionis, as neither is popular and is seen as a mere belt holder.
Hearn says Ennis is focusing on unifying the 147lb division because he is “not yet” a 154lb fighter. As a result, he declined an offer to move up to junior middleweight to challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. for his interim WBC title on His Excellency Turki Alalshikh’s Feb. 22 card of the season in Riyadh.
Eddie points out that Conor Benn is interested in fighting Barrios next for his WBC title, and that fight could happen. WBO light heavyweight champion Brian Norman wants the next adjustment, so he is not available for Ennis to fight. That leaves only WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis as the main option for Ennis’ next bout.
“The decision was not to (move to the fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr.). I feel bad for Jaron, but at the end of the day, he’s not a 154-pound fighter yet. If he did, he would fight Vergil Ortiz,” Eddie Hearn said on Fight Hub TV about why Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis didn’t accept an offer to challenge WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February 22nd.
“We pursue unification struggles. Teofimo Lopez, you’ve seen things about it. We (Ennis) actually like the fight, but he still wants to unify. So if we can’t unite, he decided to fight Teofimo Lopez.
“If he went to 154 and didn’t fight Vergil Ortiz, I would understand the criticism. We’re 100% staying at 147 for the next fight and maybe one more, but we have to deliver that unification,” Hearn said.
This won’t sit well with the fans if Boots decides to go the unification route against one of the 147lb champions instead of facing Teofimo next. He’s already looking like a duck as he opted not to face Vergil Ortiz at 154 on the Feb. 22 card in Riyadh.
If Ennis decides to skip the mega-fight against Lopez in favor of a weak welterweight unification bout against Stanionis or Barrios, people will agree that he lacks ambition and guts.
What’s next for boots?
“The offer is to do it further DAZN PPV and ESPN PPV,” Hearn said of the offer he received for the Teofimo Lopez-Boots Ennis fight. “He (Jaron) really needs a big fight and wants that big fight to be unification.
“If we can’t achieve unification, we have to look at other options (for Ennis). Other options could be Teofimo Lopez or Vergil Ortiz. Just don’t go to 154 yet. I promise you. The next one will be either in unification or mass struggle.”
Obviously, the fight with Vergil Jr. is not an option for Boots’ next fight as he has already decided not to accept that match. Ortiz Jr. has an opponent for the February 22 card, now it’s Israil Madrimov. So it is too late for Ennis to accept that option after his rejection.
If Hearn cannot negotiate a unification fight for IBF welterweight champion Jaron against WBC champion Barrios or WBA belt holder Stanionis, Teofimo is the only option. Eddie and Boots will have to act fast if they want to be able to use Lopez as a third choice because he won’t wait forever.
“As for me, I love (Teofim’s) fight, but for him (Boots), it’s not about money. He wants to unify the division,” Hearn said. “That is the absolute aim and goal. So when I approached him about Theoifma, ‘Oh, it’s a great fight, but you have to push for the champion (at 147).’ I said, ‘I will, but this is also on the table.’
“The first priority is to exhaust all options on the champions, and if not, I think it (Teofimo) is a great fight. We are negotiating with Stanionis. We are negotiating with Barrios. Brian Norman will not accept the fight. He wants a warm-up fight first and that’s it. It is quite transparent.
“We’ve got to try to shut down Stanionis or Barrios, or we’re looking at Theo, or if he (Boots) wants to move up, he’s got to go straight to that fight with Vergil Ortiz. “We’re not going to go to any other fight because people love that fight, and it’s a fight we really like,” Hearn said.
