A former unified world champion has reportedly rejected the opportunity to face unbeaten American star Jaron Ennis.
‘Boots’ Ennis made his highly anticipated return to the ring in his hometown of Philadelphia last weekend, stopping Portugal’s Uisma Lima in the opening round of their clash at the Wells Fargo Center to capture the vacant WBA interim super-welterweight title.
The former WBA and IBF world welterweight champion has received praise for his impressive performance against Lima, as he now sets his sights on becoming a two-weight world champion at some stage in 2026.
Before his clash with Lima was made official, Ennis’ promoter Eddie Hearn had reportedly reached out to former unified welterweight champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman about a potential clash with ‘Boots’, but this bout did not come to fruition.
Speaking at the post-fight press conference, Hearn shared details of how he had approached Thurman’s representatives at PBC for a potential clash with ‘Boots’ before finalising the bout with Lima.
“We offered Keith Thurman this fight, we spoke to PBC, we asked to fight Keith Thurman this fight but they ain’t gonna fight Boots.”
Thurman made his long-awaited comeback to the sport back in March, stopping Australia’s Brock Jarvis in the 3rd round of their bout in Sydney to put an end to over three years of inactivity for the former WBC and WBA welterweight champion.
The 36-year-old from Florida had been in line to make his return to the ring against reigning WBC champion Sebastian Fundora later this month, but their bout has now been postponed after ‘The Towering Inferno’ pulled out with a hand injury.
Whether or not the fight between ‘Boots’ and ‘One Time’ Thurman can materialise in the future remains to be seen, however there is no question that the 154lbs scene is on fire.
