IBF welterweight champion Jaron Ennis is set for a breakthrough year after defending his world title and becoming the perceived top dog at 147lbs. Although, to truly emerge as one of the pound-for-pound superstars in the sport, ‘Boots’ will need to either triumph over a fellow pound-for-pounder or unify the world titles, and it appears as though his father has gotten in the way of the latter option.
Ennis has been highly thought of for a number of years as the natural successor to the Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. era in the welterweight division and now that his compatriots moved up to 154lbs, ‘Boots’ looks set to take over the welterweight scene. The Philadelphian was upgraded from IBF interim champion to full world titlist last November but it wasn’t until July that he competed in a first world title bout, but boy did he look the part.
The 27-year-old returned to his hometown and faced David Avanesyan at the Wells Fargo Center in front of 15,000 fans – the biggest crowd in the state since Marvin Hagler headlined against Bennie Briscoe in 1978. Ennis obliged with a fifth-round knockout to retain the belt, notably halting the Armenian one round before Crawford did, and then announced his plans to unify the world titles.
Just one month since that win, Ennis told YSM Sports Media that he had sent an offer to newly-crowned WBO champion Brian Norman Jr., but claimed that the ‘Assassin II’ had ‘turned it down’.
“An offer was sent two days ago. Someone sent me something where they said they would fight me at home, too. We sent an offer two days ago. They turned it down,”
“I want to collect these belts. I’m just frustrated. I don’t want to have no backward fights. My whole thing is to be undisputed [at 147] and collect these belts.”
Although, in response, Brian Norman Jr. detailed how he and his team did not decline the offer and that it was actually Ennis’ own father who believed it was best that the clash was ‘saved until later on’.
“My daddy called Bozy himself, ‘Yes, we accepted the fight, and my dad was trying to talk. But Bozy said, ‘Woah, woah, no. We ain’t trying to fight right now. We want to save that until undisputed [is on the line]. We want to save that until later on.’
“So, your daddy is the one that said, ‘No,’ not us. We said, ‘Yes.’ We called your daddy just to say, ‘Yes,’ and yes, I will come to Philly just for that fight. Don’t forget, every time we encountered each other, I pulled up on y’all.
“I’m always down for any fight. I’m always down for any occasion, and just like I said before. I’m always down to come to your hood to get this work in. So, it’s never been that. I’m ready for all of that. I want the fight whenever.
“The way he’s talking, he’s talking like he’s some kind of big dog or something like that, but I’m not going for that. I am myself. You ain’t no big dog as long as I’m here.
“We can’t even say we was in negotiations because they automatically said we said, ‘No.’ But was immediately said back a counteroffer and everything. We were down for the get around,”
As for other possible unifications, Mario Barrios currently holds the WBC welterweight title and has been linked to a shocking contest against Manny Pacquiao, although plans have been put on ice after a tough-to-watch performance from the Filipino legend in an exhibition.
Meanwhile, Eimantas Stanionis reigns as WBA welterweight champion, but is reportedly eyeing a homecoming fight in Lithuania instead.
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