Jaron Ennis is preparing to make his first appearance at a new weight class later this year.
The unbeaten 28-year-old from Philadelphia has spent the entirety of his career campaigning at welterweight, where he reigned as the unified WBA and IBF world champion up until last month when he vacated his IBF crown.
It has now been confirmed that ‘Boots’ will make the move up to super-welterweight next, with promoter Eddie Hearn revealing that an offer has been sent to Britain’s Josh Kelly, who is currently ranked at number 3 with the WBO, for a bout that could be a world title eliminator to take place in October.
In an interview with The Ring Magazine, Kelly responded to the claims made by Hearn, where he admits that he will ‘100% fight’ Ennis, as long as he is offered the ‘right money and time’ to prepare.
“Yeah the offer is s–t, he’s done it like ‘You’ve gotta reply in 24 hours or we’re moving to a different opponent’ and it weren’t Eddie, I think it was Eddie’s lawyer who said it so it’s all smoke and mirrors like and then they put it out in the media, listen I’ll take the Jaron Ennis fight 100%, give me the right money and the right time, I’m there, I’ll fight Jaron Ennis.”
Kelly made his most recent ring appearance in his hometown on June 6, stopping Romania’s Flavius Biea in the opening round of their bout at the Newcastle Arena.
Should the fight with Kelly fall through, ‘Boots’ has also expressed an interest in facing fellow countryman Vergil Ortiz Jr, who currently holds the WBC ‘interim’ world title at 154lbs.
