Jaron 'Boots' Ennis feels like a new man at 154 pounds — and that's a scary thought

PHILADELPHIA — The gray, overcast, late September afternoon in Southwest Philadelphia was not about to dampen anyone’s attitude who showed up for Jaron “Boots” Ennis’ open workout. It was more an Ennis pep rally than it was a workout, with a gathering of a few hundred there to express their appreciation for the local boxing star.

Possibly the most appreciative was Ennis himself. He didn’t have to make 147 pounds anymore. He looked refreshed, energized and relaxed in his home setting.

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Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) will make his super welterweight debut against Uisma Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) on Saturday night in the newly branded Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia.

For the past two years, Ennis, the former IBF, WBA and Ring welterweight world champion, had been killing himself to make 147, almost literally, multiple sources in and around Ennis’ camp confirmed.

Ennis, 28, had been warned by doctors the weight cut could potentially have a disastrous effect on his body if he kept trying to make 147 pounds. Over the past few years, Ennis, according to those around him, and Ennis himself, had been fighting at around 80% of what he is fully capable of — a scary thought for any of the 154-pound titleholders Ennis is aiming to fight.

“Boots had grown out of 147 a few years ago, and because he always stays in great shape during his down time, he was still able to fight at a world championship level, that’s how special he is,” said Bozy Ennis, Boots’ trainer and father. “Boots stayed at 147 too long. He had been at 147 for 10 years. That was too long.

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“Understand this, he was strong at 147 and draining himself to make the weight, not even close to everything he could do. This move had to be made.”

In his third defense of the IBF title, Ennis ran over Eimantas Stanionis by sixth-round TKO in April to claim the WBA welterweight belt. Boots dominated from start to early finish, handing Stanionis his first loss as a professional. The victory came after a 12-round decision victory in a rematch over Karen Chukhadzhian, and Ennis’ fifth-round stoppage of David Avanesyan in his first official IBF welterweight title defense.

Although behind the curtains, something was not right, and on occasion, it was showing up in the ring. In the Chukhadzhian rematch, Ennis took criticism, for the first time in his career, for not being able to stop the stubborn, tricky Ukrainian.

Jaron Ennis added the WBA welterweight world title to his collection after stopping Eimantas Stanionis in his last fight, then relinquished his belts to move up to 154 pounds.

(Ed Mulholland via Getty Images)

He seemed to wipe that out by barreling over Stanionis.

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“I feel really good, I feel really strong. If I had to make 147 again, I probably would not have been here today for this open workout,” Ennis said. “Losing the weight had an effect. I’m older. I’ve been 147 pounds ever since I was 16. It takes something from you, dropping the weight. It was strenuous on the body. I felt like I had to move to 154, but I did not want to leave 147 as an email champion. I wanted that Ring Magazine title, which stamped my legacy.

“So, I stayed at 147.”

In his most recent camp, in preparation for Stanionis, Ennis had a nutritionist and was getting blood work done, figuring out what he needed and what he did not need to intake. Those were the signs for him to move up.

It bothered Ennis that he received the IBF title after Terence Crawford refused to face Ennis as his mandatory challenger in November 2023. Ennis always wanted to win his first title in the ring. So, he hung on at 147 to accomplish some goals.

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“That says just how great a fighter Boots Ennis is, because he was not 100% of who he is the last couple of years,” said Eddie Hearn, Ennis’ promoter. “What everyone saw was a depleted fighter at 147 pounds. He was still great. He was still a phenomenal fighter. He wanted to accomplish some things at 147, and he did. But it was a struggle for him to make 147. This is only a seven-pound difference, but it will be far easier for him to be the fighter he is at 154 than it was for him to make 147.”

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These are the champions Ennis has his sights on at 154: Xander Zayas (WBO), Bakhram Murtazaliev (IBF), Abass Baraou (WBA), Sebastian Fundora (WBC) and Vergil Ortiz Jr. (WBC interim champion).

“Boots is the future of boxing,” Hearn said. “He’s a future pound-for-pound king. He’s going to take over for Crawford. We wants Ortiz, Murtazaliev, Zayas, all of them. Then we’ll move and take over 160. But one step at a time. The first is Lima on Saturday night.”

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The immediate goal after that, according to Hearn, is Ortiz.

Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs) will first have to defend the WBC interim super welterweight title against Erickson Lubin on Nov. 8.

According to Team Ennis, an Ortiz vs. Ennis title fight in Philadelphia in March or April 2026 is the plan.

“Ortiz is who we want after Saturday,” Hearn said. “It makes the most sense. We spoke to Golden Boy and DAZN. We worked out a deal structure. Eric [Gomez, president of Golden Boy Promotions] called me. They want the fight. But they first have to get by Lubin. We’ll see. It’s boxing. I’m going by their word for now. Ennis-Ortiz is one of the best fights in boxing right now.

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“Everyone agrees it has to get done.”

What’s lost here is Lima (14-1, 10 KOs).

“Some athletes are so good, but they don’t have the opportunities,” Lima said. “In America, the fighters have everything from Day 1. I’m from Portugal. From Day 1, I’ve had nothing, I’ve had to do everything on my own, and now is my time to show my skills and everything I have.

“This fight has come at the best time for me as I’m hitting my prime, I’m confident and people will see this. A new version of ‘The Monster.’ I can fight in any style. I can fight in the pocket, I can use my footwork, I’m strong, I can change to any fight and I’m getting better and better, and Boots will see that on Saturday. I know he will come with everything, but I will be too, so it’s going to be a great fight.”

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Ennis is taking Lima seriously. He takes every opponent seriously. But the Philly fighter does not know much about Lima.

“I never heard of [Lima] before, but I watched him and I know he comes forward and tries to throw a lot of punches,” Ennis said. “That’s about it. I love fighting at home in front of my people. My main focus is Lima on Oct. 11. I’m prepared. When you do not focus on what is in front of you, that’s how things happen. I want to throw my focus into [Lima]. I’ll concern myself with [Ortiz] after this step. I have things to get done at 154.

“More importantly, this is probably the strongest that I have felt in years.”

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