'BOOTS' ENNIS KICKS UP A STORM

IT was just two years ago when American Terence "Bud" Crawford crowned himself undisputed welterweight champion with a nine-around annihilation of Errol Spence Jr.

Crawford became the first four-belt (WBA, WBC, WBO and IBF) undisputed champ in the history of the welterweight (147 pounds) division.

Then again, Crawford's reign as the lone king of the welters was short lived as he abdicated the throne to pursue a fight with unified super middleweight (154 pounds) champion Saul "Canelo" Alvarez.

With Crawford abandoning the division, the welterweight crown was again left fragmented.

Lithuanian Eimantas Stanionis claimed the WBA title while the WBC plum was awarded to Mario Barrios.

The WBO diadem ended up in the hands of American Brian Norman Jr. while another American, Jaron "Boots" Ennis, was promoted to regular IBF world champ.

All four champs yearned for a shot at Crawford but ended up settling for the "title crumbs" the latter left behind.

It's a good thing though that a move has been made to crown another undisputed champion in the welterweight division.

The ball got rolling last April 13 (Manila time), when WBA champ Stanionis and IBF titleholder Ennis figured in a unification showdown in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The clash of the two champs was the biggest since Crawford and Spence Jr. met for all the welterweight marbles in July 2023.

Ennis had been previously tipped to succeed Crawford as the division's most bankable star, but his stock took a dip when he struggled last November in a defense of his IBF title against Karen Chudkhadzhian of Ukraine. Ennis won on points but showed defensive loopholes as he took a lot of unnecessary shots from Karen.

Four months before the Karen fight, Ennis also looked ordinary in another ho-hum decision victory over David Avanesyan.

Make no mistake, Ennis has the trimmings of a star: great boxing ability, lightning-fast hand speed, and enormous punching power.

A native of Philadelphia, Ennis grew up in a boxing environment. His father Derrick "Bozy" was a former boxer and veteran trainer. Jaron's older brothers Derrick "Pooh" Ennis Jr. and Farah Ennis were pros too, making the gym more like a second home for young Jaron.

Ennis turned pro in 2016. In January 2023, he won the "interim" IBF welterweight title by beating Chudkhadzhian in their first meeting. In November 2023, after then-undisputed champ Crawford refused to face Ennis, the IBF stripped Crawford of the title and promoted Ennis to full or regular IBF champion.

For all his sizzling knockout wins, Ennis' choice of opponents leaves plenty to be desired. It did not serve him well that he looked ordinary in his last two fights (Karen, Avanesyan) leading to the fight with Stanionis. Stanionis, a former Olympian, offered a 15-0 record and was touted as a solid threat. The WBA champ was coming off inactivity but was expected to give Ennis a serious run for his money.

In easily his most impressive performance to date, Ennis finally lived up to expectations by dismantling Stanionis in six rounds. Ennis asserted his superiority in the fight, boxing with fluidity and throwing punches with bad intentions.

In the sixth round, a series of debilitating body shots from Ennis forced Stanionis to seek refuge along the ropes. Ennis pursued Stanionis in the corner and hammered him there without remorse. A bloodied Stanionis was forced to take a knee.

The WBA champ survived the round, but his Filipino trainer Marvin Somodio did not allow Stanionis to answer the bell for the seventh round.

Ennis went down as the winner via sixth round technical knockout.

Ennis, 27, improved his record to 34-0 with 30 knockouts. As he now owns both the WBA and IBF titles, Ennis is in a position to follow in the footsteps of Crawford as undisputed champion.

Ennis is obliged to defend the unified belts against WBA mandatory contender Shakhram Giyasov (17-0, 10 knockouts) of Uzbekistan. Down the road, Ennis is looking to unify all four belts, which means taking on WBC champ Barrios and WBO champ Norman Jr.

Ennis unifying all four crowns is contingent on him finding a way to keep his weight in check and stay at 147 pounds. There have been loose whispers that Ennis is already finding it difficult to make the weight and that he may move up to a higher weight class.

At junior middleweight or 154 pounds, a dream fight against WBC interim junior middleweight champ Vergil Ortiz Jr. awaits Ennis. Texas native Ortiz totes a record of 23-0 with 21 knockouts and a fight with Ennis promises to be a certified knuckle-buster.

For now, Ennis is looking to clean up the welterweight division.

2025-04-17T16:18:45Z