Coach Stephen Edwards says Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis doesn’t shy away from anyone. He thinks things are “happening behind the scenes and his promoters are trying to figure out what they can get for him at 147 years old.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom Boxing)
IBF light heavyweight champion Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) isn’t helping himself by turning down a fight against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. and Teofimo Lopez. That would be huge for Boots.
Boots could fight Vergil on the Turki Al-Shiekh card on Feb. 22 in Riyadh, and that would be a big payday for him. Fans believe that Ennis avoided Vergil Jr and did not want to take a risky match for fear of losing.
Boots’ decision not to fight Vergil Jr. it comes at a bad time for him. He just had a terrible performance against Karen Chukhadzhian in their rematch on November 9, and some think he’s lost confidence.
Debate about the pacing
“There are fighters who hide behind their management to not fight fighters, but I don’t think that applies to him,” Stephen Edwards told YSM Sports media on his belief that Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis doesn’t cheat guys.
“I don’t think he’s playing anyone. I just think there’s a lot of stuff going on between them behind the scenes, and they’re just trying to figure out who they can get in the ring, and he knows his given numbers are 147,” Stephen continued of ‘Boots.’
“I don’t think he’s saying, ‘I’m afraid to fight this guy.’ “I just think a lot of things on the business side are not going well for him. He’s got a lot going on. His team just has to get those guys in the ring,” Edwards said.
Boots obviously isn’t avoiding anyone with 147 because there isn’t anyone talented enough to want to avoid them. But it certainly looks like he avoided WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. when the fight was offered to him recently. Ennis said he wants to stay at 147 to unify, but his situation there isn’t promising.
Ennis reportedly turned down a career-high payday to fight Vergil Jr. on February 22nd, which looks bad on his part.
Edwards’ defense
“If he gets the unification against Brian Norman or the fight against Mario Barrios. Every time I see Conor Benn, they keep talking about Barrios. So I know there’s kind of a conflict when you have a guy that’s in your promotional stable, and one guy [Benn] trying to argue.
“That must be hard for Boots. If Conor Benn gets Mario Barrios to fight and Boots wants to unify, it’s tough,” said Edwards.
If Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, decides to set up a fight between Conor Benn and WBC light heavyweight champion Mario Barrios instead of helping him unify against Barrios, you can understand why he would be upset if he follows what’s going on.
Boots said he doesn’t know what happened when his fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr. offered at 154. Jaron talked about what was happening behind the scenes without his being aware of it. If Boots management doesn’t keep him informed, he’ll be surprised if Conor Benn gets the Barrios fight instead.
If Conor wins that fight, Ennis needs to consider moving up to 154 because that means he will likely never get the chance to achieve his goal of becoming undisputed at 147.
Assuming Conor beats Barrios, he would use the WBC title for a big money fight against Manny Pacquiao instead of facing Ennis. He won’t fight him because his chances of success would be slim, and he can make more money holding the WBC title to lure the 45-year-old Pacquiao with it. That belt will be the bait of the trap to lure Manny.
