Jaron Ennis “Out of the Loop” Again? Boots Should Want Teofimo Lopez Fight

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis needs to make sure he is not left out of his talks to fight Teofimo Lopez in early 2025. Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) felt blindsided about being offered the fight with Vergil. Ortiz Jr. on February 22.

Excuse “Out of the Loop”.

In this case, IBF welterweight champion Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) must participate because a match with Teofimo (21-1, 13 KOs) will boost his slow-moving career.

The fans of course no longer believe Boots’ excuse for choosing not to fight Vergil, they see it as a matter of old fear. His last opponent, Karen Chukhadzhian, defeated him on November 9, and Ortiz Jr. he could do worse to her. Ennis’ excuse for not appearing on his team fell flat with fans who saw him as lacking courage after what happened to him against Karen.

Lopez shows he’s not afraid to take on the challenge of moving up to 147. It seems too bad that Ennis wasn’t willing to do the same by moving up to 154 in one fight to challenge Vergil Jr. for his interim WBC title against Mr. Turki. Alalshikh’s exhibition in Riyadh on February 22.

Teofimo started his career at lightweight and moved up to 140 in 2022. Teo has only had five fights at light welterweight, and now makes a jump of 147 to challenge Boots. That’s incredible.

The downside of Ennis taking this fight against Lopez is that if he gets knocked out or fights for the win, his stock will drop even more than it currently is after his decision to not take the Vergil Jr. contest. It would be hard to see Boots bounce back from a loss or poor showing against Teofimo and become a popular guy.

Showing Skeptics is Wrong

Lance Pugmire reports that Teofimo’s promoter, Bob Arum, is in talks with Matchroom boss Eddie Hearn to schedule the fight for a joint DAZN/ESPN PPV event early next year. Now that Terence Crawford has moved up in weight, the best fight for Boots is at 147.

We have to wait and see if this war will happen because it has yet to be discussed. Teofimo may opt to play the A-side with Ennis, which will sink any chances of a match. Boots sees himself as the King of the 147-lb division, which is now all about talent. Conor Benn, Devin Haney, and Ryan Garcia are more popular than Ennis because they have personality.

Ennis wants to be a star, but he can’t do that unless he negotiates Teofimo’s battle and faces Haney, Ryan, and Benn.