Shakur Stevenson has expressed his desire to see Jaron "Boots" Ennis make the jump to 154 lbs and challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. for the WBC interim junior middleweight title. Stevenson believes Ennis has the talent to defeat Vergil Ortiz Jr., who recently came off a controversial majority decision win over Serhii Bohachuk in August.
Ortiz struggled against Bohachuk, often overswinging and leaving himself open to counters. Stevenson feels that Boots could exploit these weaknesses and come out on top if they fought at junior middleweight.
Watch Beyond the Bell: Ortiz Jr. vs. Bohachuk Watch
Ennis, who is currently preparing for a rematch against Karen Chukhadzhian on November 9th, hasn’t publicly discussed moving up in weight yet. However, Stevenson feels that it might be time for him to broaden his horizons at 154, as securing big unification fights at 147 has been a challenge due to financial and promotional hurdles.
"Boots is the truth," Stevenson said, confident that Ennis could handle Ortiz’s power. Coach Greg Hackett echoed Stevenson’s sentiments, saying that while Vergil is tough, Boots' speed and power would be difficult to handle in the ring.
It remains to be seen whether Ennis will consider moving up, but the potential matchup with Ortiz could be a big fight in the junior middleweight division!
Don't miss the upcoming Boots-Chukhadzhian bout!
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