Jaron Ennis is one of the brightest talents in the sport with a record of 34 wins, 30 knockouts, and zero losses.
After becoming unified welterweight champion with his latest win over Eimantas Stanionis, switch-hitter ‘Boots’ is now poised to make the move up to 154lbs after struggling to make 147.
Prior to announcing that decision, Ennis was close to agreeing a fight with two-weight world champion Teofimo Lopez.
That’s a fight, however, that former two-weight world champion Tim Bradley has told Ennis to avoid, explaining on his YouTube channel why it would be a mistake for ‘Boots.’
“Y’all gonna think I’m crazy. Boots Ennis better leave Teofimo Lopez alone. I’m telling y’all. Leave that boy alone. He a real one. I know all that racist rants and stuff, that’s one thing, but I’m talking about boxing. And I’m here to tell y’all he got what it takes to beat Boots Ennis.
“The two most athletic fighters in the game. Damn, if they was to go head to head. Yeah, Boots got all the attributes, the height, the long arms. But you know who’s got the timing? That’s Teofimo Lopez. Who was the last athletic guy that Boots fought? Karen? Don’t think that Boots gonna be able to outpunch him. Go back and watch the Claggett fight, Teofimo got lungs too. He threw almost 1000 punches in that fight.
“Boots, all those lapses you be having, you ain’t gonna be able to have them with Teofimo Lopez. That dude is on his game. When his mind’s right, it’s hard to beat that dude. Explosive, smart, high IQ as well as you do. I’m letting you know, Eddie Hearn if you’re listening, if you don’t want your guy to get beat, stay away from Teofimo Lopez.”
Lopez – who shone brightly in his latest super-lightweight title defence against Arnold Barboza – has always been keen on the challenge and may indeed move up to 154 to make it happen in the future. More immediately, ‘Boots’ Ennis has been linked with knockout artist Vergil Ortiz Jr.
