Eddie Hearn says the Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs. Imantas Stanionis fight on April 12 is the #1 and #2 in the bantamweight division to prove who is the better champion. IBF 147-LB champion ENNIS (33-0, 29) and WBA belt holder Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOS) take place at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event will be shown live on Dazn.
Hearn gave himself the pat on the back to hand Ennis, 27, the first of three unification fights he needed to become undisputed champion at the weight.
Eddie recently failed to negotiate a fight for “Shoes” last November with WBO champion Brian Norman Jr., resulting in Ennis being stuck defending his mandatory submission to Karen Chakhadzhyan in a rematch that fans had no interest in seeing.
Ennis looked terrible in that fight, getting outside squared and even by Karen across many rounds. To say that Chakhadzian made “Shoes” look terrible is putting it lightly. Jaron won the fight via a 12-round unanimous decision, but his stock in the boxing world declined because he looked terrible.
Ennis stepped things up a notch recently by turning down a career-high payday to fight interim WBC middleweight champion Virgil Ortiz Jr. on Turki Al-Sheikh’s mega-card on February 22 in Riyadh. Fans saw this as flat cowardice on Ennis’ part. Therefore, for Jaron to now fight Stanionis in a unification on April 12, nothing has been done to revive his lost popularity.
The fight we wanted for boxing fans was Boots Ennis versus Vergil Ortiz Jr, not a bout against Stanionis, which was not well known or well thought of by Americans. The other two world champions at 147, Brian Norman and Mario Barrios are not held in high regard by the fans.
Wrong opponent
The shoes won’t get much credit for beating any of these guys, they will Empty achievement If he finally achieves his goal of becoming undisputed at 147. No one will care because fans place more value in Ennis moving to fight Virgil, Bakhram Muratazaliev, Izril Madrimov, and Siri Bohachuk at 154.
“That’s enough. Brian Norman, Barrios, they’re two good fighters. Stanionis is one. Stanionis is the toughest fight to boot, and you’ll see the best versus the best. Claim the crown, that’s what it’s about,” Eddie Hearn said. Match boxingsaying who he feels is the best out of the 147-pound triple Jaron Ennis should beat.
“It’s one of the most exciting and rewarding announcements we’ve ever made because Boots had a dream (unifying the 147lb division) that we were responsible for managing, and that was for him to unify the division to become the best 147-pound division in the world,” Hearn continued.
“I have to respect Stanionis because no one wants to fight boots, and probably the last performer (Karen Chakhadzhyan bout) I just thought this is a great fight. This is the No. 1 and 2 heavyweights in the world who fight for the IBF, WBA, and Ring magazine belt to tell us unequivocally who He is the best 147-pounder in the world.
Evade Ortiz?
This isn’t a rewarding ad because it does nothing to make fans forget that the Shoes turned down a risky fight against Vergil Ortiz Jr. On February 22nd. Fans believe Ennis has boxed Ortiz down, fearing losing him and seeing his popularity eroded.
Potts has already looked bad in most of his recent fights against Karen Chokhadzian X 2, David Afsanyan, and Roiman Vela. The last time Jaron looked impressive was three years ago when he knocked out 34-year-old Custio Clayton in the second round on May 14, 2022.
“‘Shoes’ had a lot of criticism because he stood by his dream, and when the Ortiz (Vergil) fight came when the Teofimo fight came, Eddie said, ‘I want to unify the division. I want to win all the belts. Please, make it happen,'” Lee said, “and we made it happen.” that. “We turn it over, and we’re in Boardwalk Hall, which is a plaza steeped in history,” Hearn said.
“It’s going to be a huge show, and for all the people who doubted it. All the people who took shots at him (Ennis), this is the real fight. April 12 in Atlantic City, ‘The Boots’ vs. Stanionis for the bantamweight supremacy and for the Ring Magazine belt. The other two were Ring Magazine owners. Magazine are Terence Crawford and Floyd Mayweather, and they go back decades
“Beyond that, (Sugar Ray) Leonard, Hagler, Sugar Ray Robinson. That’s the quality we’re going to see in this fight, and that’s the statement the ‘Boots’ are going to make to prove he’s great,” Hearn said.
https://www.boxingnews24.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/jaron-ennis53.jpg
Source link