Boots Ennis Pursuing Barrios Or Stanionis Before Considering Teofimo Lopez

Eddie Hearn says Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ first priority is to use every effort to make a unification fight instead of facing Teofimo Lopez.

Matchroom promoter Hearn says that if he can’t negotiate with Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) to face WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios or WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis, he will consider a fight with Teofimo. and Ennis. That will be a joint PPV match on DAZN and ESPN.

Teofimo Holds

The fans were looking forward to the Brothers facing Teofimo Lopez next. They will be disappointed if Ennis chooses to fight unification against Barrios or Stanionis, as neither of these guys are popular and are not seen as belt holders.

Hearn says Ennis is focused on unifying the 147-lb division because he is “not yet” a 154-lb fighter. That’s why he didn’t accept an offer to move up to junior middleweight to challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. for his interim WBC title on Turki Alalshikh’s February 22 card in Riyadh.

Eddie reveals that Conor Benn is interested in fighting Barrios for his WBC title next, and that fight could happen. WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman wants a rematch, so Ennis is unavailable for the fight. That leaves only WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis as the main option for Ennis’ next bout.

“The decision was not representative [move up to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr]. I feel for Jaron, but at the end of the day, he’s still not a 154-pound fighter. If that was the case, he would be fighting Vergil Ortiz,” said Eddie Hearn on Fight Hub TV about why Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis didn’t accept an offer to challenge WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. on February 22.

“We are chasing wars of unity. Teofimo Lopez, you saw things in that. We [Ennis] he actually likes that fight, but he still wants to combine. So, if we can put it together, you have the decision to fight Teofimo Lopez.

“If he had gone to 154 and fought Vergil Ortiz, I would have understood the criticism. “We stayed 100% at 147 in the next fight and maybe another one, but we have to bring that unity,” said Hearn.

This won’t go down well with the fans if Boot chooses to go to the combine with one of the 147-lb champions instead of facing Teofimo next. He already looked like a duck by choosing not to face Vergil Ortiz at 154 on the February 22 card in Riyadh.

If Ennis decides to skip a big fight against Lopez in favor of a lackluster welterweight unification bout against Stanionis or Barrios, it will be clear in people’s minds that he lacks ambition and courage.

What’s Next for Boots?

“The request is to do it on DAZN PPV and ESPN PPV,” said Hearn about the offer he received for the fight between Teofimo Lopez and Boot Ennis. “He [Jaron] He really needs a big fight, and he wants that big fight to be unity.

“If we can’t find unity, we have to look for other ways [for Ennis]. Other options would be Teofimo Lopez or Vergil Ortiz. He’s not off 154 yet. I promise you. You will either be in unity or in the next big battle. “

Apparently, Vergil Jr.’s fight. it is not an option for Boot’s next fight because he has already been selected not to take that match. Ortiz Jr. he has an opponent on the February 22 card, Israel Madrimov now. Therefore, it is too late for Ennis to take that option after his refusal.

If Hearn can’t negotiate a fight pitting IBF welterweight champion Jaron against WBC champion Barrios or WBA belt holder Stanionis, Teofimo is the only option. Eddie and Boots will have to move quickly if they want to choose to use Lopez as a third option because he won’t wait forever.

“For me, I love it [Teofimo] fight, but for him [Boots]it’s not money. He wants to bridge the gap,” said Hearn. “That’s the goal and the goal. So, when I went to him about Teoifmo, ‘Oh, that’s a cool fight, but you have to push the champions. [at 147].’ I said, ‘I will, but this is also on the table.’

“The first priority is to use all the options for the champions, and then if not, I think that’s it [Teofimo] a great battle. We interview Stanionis. We are interviewing Barrios. Brian Norman won’t catch it. You want a warm-up fight first, and that’s it. It is very obvious.

“We have to try to shut down Stanionis or Barrios, or look at Teo, or [Boots] he doesn’t want to move up, he should go straight to that Vergil Ortiz fight. “There is no other fight we will fight because people love that fight, and that is the fight we love the most,” said Hearn.