“It is inevitable—the move(to junior middleweight)—but I feel like the Teofimo fight is a great fight, and I think that’s a great option for him [Jaron Ennis].” That is what Eddie Hearn told Fight Hub TV last week while talking about Boots’ move up and the purported fight with Teofimo Lopez at welterweight. It’s been five months since Teofimo Lopez first called Jaron Ennis out for a potential fight. Recently, things looked optimistic regarding the negotiations with The Takeover, even posting, “I just wanted to get on here and let ya’ll know, man, it’s happening.” And even with hardcore negotiations in place, the matchup just doesn’t seem to reach its finality. Coming off a spectacular technical-knockout victory against Eimantas Stanionis in April, the unified welterweight champion still finds himself at a crossroads, unable to find a suitable opponent.
Then there is Shakhram Giyasov, too, the mandatory challenger for the WBA welterweight title. If Boots decides to move up, it leads him into further problems, as the Philadelphia native ended his negotiations with Vergil Ortiz Jr., the Interim WBC light middleweight champion, on a sour note the last time around. So, it looks pretty dicey at the moment for the 27-year-old if he fails to make the Teofimo Lopez fight. Then what’s the good news for fans? While the unified champion is stuck making decisions on whether to stay and unify at the welterweight division or to move up, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh already has a lucrative offer to help him decide.
In a recently held press conference for Ring III in New York, HE made an important announcement. “We are ready to do big fights,” said Alalshikh, sounding promising about what he’s planned for this year. “We have big cards in August. We have big cards in October,” he continued, disclosing how he is in talks with Matchroom and Hearn for Ennis’s next big fight. And it well could have been the Takeover on his mind, but what followed was not good news for those who want to see a Lopez-Ennis clash.
Just recently, the Brooklyn native took to his X handle, in a now-deleted post, to keep fans updated about the negotiations. For now, it looks like things are not ok, with the post reading, “BOXING UPDATE: Jaron “Boots” Ennis has declined the fight against ‘i’ for his @WBABoxing @IBFUSBAboxing @ringmagazine championship titles at the Welterweight division, aka 147lbs.”
“His Excellency @Turki_alalshikh is upset with this as @EddieHearn agreed to the fight for later this year!” Lopez continued in the post. He was pointing out the serious negotiations that were in place this month, and Hearn sounded hopeful in recent interviews with boxing outlets about a possible Ennis-Lopez showdown for August. Since the other champions at welterweight—Brian Norman Jr. and Mario Barrios—are busy with their own title defenses. To be honest, most of us agree that Jaron Ennis should take up the fight against Teofimo Lopez. This includes even his rival and fellow champion at 147.
Brian Norman Jr. gives the green flag for Jaron Ennis-Teofimo Lopez, but…
“I won’t look at it bad, and this is the main reason why — we talking about Turki. We all know Turki be paying,” the 27-0 boxer told the Ring, eyeing the big payday Jaron Ennis may lose if the fight falls apart. Threatening to take it up himself if Boots fails, Brian Norman Jr. stated, “So, let’s just say he get paid $20 million, $15 million, whatever he get just to fight Teo, I would tell him, ‘Boy, you better go and take that money, [or else] I’m gonna do it.’ I wouldn’t be mad at him at all.”
“I want both of them, to be real with you,” Norman said, shooting his shot. “Of course, them two, they’re talking to each other, but shoot, I’m a champion as well, Teo. Let’s make this thing happen. And if Boots should want to be undisputed, I’m still right here and I got a belt as well. I don’t care. I’ll literally fight anybody. I love to throw hands,” the WBO welterweight champion said.
As for their title unification bout, it can happen after the Teofimo Lopez showdown. “I can’t guarantee that just yet, but of course, me and Ennis are definitely on a collision course. So, that fight will definitely happen in the future,” said Norman. So if Boots’ team manages to finalize the Lopez fight, there might even be a title unification down the line for Jaron Ennis with Brian Norman Jr. But if they fail, well, only time can tell what happens next. What are your thoughts on the matter? Do you think it would be a good decision to accept this fight? Or should Ennis move up for good?
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