Eddie Hearn says that Jaron 'Boots' Ennis vs. Imantas Stanionis on April 12th will prove who the #1 and #2 in the welterweight division is. IBF 147-lb champion Ennis (33-0, 29) and WBA belt-holder Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) headline at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey. The event will be shown live on DAZN.

(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)

Hearn patted himself on the back for delivering the 27-year-old Ennis, the first of three unification fights to become the undisputed champion at welterweight.

Eddie recently failed to negotiate a fight for 'Boots' with WBO champion Brian Norman Jr. last November, which resulted in Ennis being stuck with a rematch against his IBF mandated Karen Chukhadjian that the fans had no interest in watching.

Ennis looked awful in that fight, being outboxed and even out-punched by Karen through many rounds. That Chukhadjian made the 'boot' look terrible is putting it mildly. Jaron won the fight by a 12-round unanimous decision, but his stock in the boxing world plummeted because he looked awful.

Ennis recently made things worse by turning down a career-high payday to fight the WBC interim junior middleweight champion. Virgil Ortiz Jr. Al-Sheikh Turki in Riyadh on a huge February 22nd card. Fans saw it as flat-out, old cowardice On behalf of Ennis. So, Jaron is now fighting Stanionis in a merger on April 12th, which has done nothing to rekindle his lost popularity.

The fight American boxing fans wanted to see was Boots Ennis vs. Virgil Ortiz Jr., not a match against Stanyonnis, which is neither well-known nor well-regarded by Americans. The other two world champions at 147, Brian Norman and Mario Barrios, are also not well regarded by fans.

wrong opponent

Boots won't get much credit for beating any of those guys, and it will An empty achievement If he finally achieves his goal of going undisputed at 147. No one will care because fans value Ennis more than Virgil, Bakhram Muratajaliev, Yisrael Madrimov and Serhiy Bohachuk to fight at 154.

“This is enough. Brian Norman, Barrios, two good fighters. Stanionis is one. Stanyonnis is the toughest fight to boot, and you'll see the best versus the best. Claim the crown, and that's what it's all about,” said Eddie Hearn Matchroom BoxingHe's saying who he thinks is the best of the three 147-pounders that Jaron Ennis must beat.

“This is one of the most exciting and rewarding announcements we've ever made because Boots had a dream (to unify the 147-pound division) that we're responsible for managing, and it was for him to unify the division and become the standout best 147. -pounder in the world,” Hearn continued.

“I have to give credit to Stanionis because no one wanted to fight Boots, and the last performance (Karen Chukhadjian rematch) just thought and it was a great fight. Here are the #1 and #2 welterweights in the world who fought for the IBF, WBA and Ring magazine belts to tell us unequivocally who the best 147-pounder in the world is.

Dodging Ortiz?

It's not a rewarding announcement because it did nothing to make fans forget Boots for turning down a risky fight against Virgil Ortiz Jr. on February 22nd. Fans felt that Ennis sneered at Ortiz, was afraid to lose to him, and his popularity further declined.

Boot has already looked bad in most of his recent fights against Karen Chukhadzhian x 2, David Avsanesyan, and Roiman Villa. Jaron last looked impressive three years ago when he knocked out 34-year-old Custo Clayton in the second round on May 14, 2022.

“'Boots' got a lot of criticism because he stood by his dream, and when the (Virgil) Ortiz fight came up when the Teofimo fight came up, he told me, 'Eddie, I want to unify the division. I want to win all the belts. Please, let it happen,' and we made it happen. We delivered, and we're at Boardwalk Hall, an arena steeped in history,” Hearn said.

“It's going to be a huge show, and for those who doubted him. For those who took shots at him (Ennis), this is the real fight. April 12th in Atlantic City, Stanyonnis' 'boot' for welterweight supremacy and the Ring Magazine belt. Ring Magazine The last two holders of the belt were Terence Crawford and Floyd Mayweather, decades ago

“Outside of that, (Sugar Ray) Leonard, Hagler, Sugar Ray Robinson. We're going to see that quality in this fight, and that's the statement that 'Boots' will prove that he's pound for pound,” said Hearn.