What’s Next for Jaron “Boots” Ennis?

Jaron “Boots” Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) did what he was supposed to do Saturday night at a raucous Wells Fargo Center in his hometown of Philadelphia. He knocked off an overmatched David Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KOs), sending the massive underdog away with a broken jaw and the wounded pride of having his fight stopped by his corner between rounds five and six.

Observers point out that some chinks seemed to appear in the armor of the 27-year-old Ennis, who was competing in his first bout under the Eddie Hearn/Matchroom Boxing promotional banner. He got hit more times than expected against a foe who probably shouldn’t have touched him that much.

One could chalk that up to, maybe, the confidence of being put in the ring with someone he knew couldn’t hurt him. His one-year layoff could also have had something to do with some of the timing issues he had, against a basic opponent who wasn’t particularly elusive or complex.

“I felt a little off,” Ennis told DAZN in his post-fight interview. “My timing was a little off. I didn’t think my timing would be off.”

“If he thinks that performance was off, the world of boxing ought to be very, very afraid,” promoter Eddie Hearn would later chime in. “He’s the future of boxing. That’s what he is.”

But what does the future hold for Ennis when it comes to his aspirations of next-level stardom?

A Terence Crawford fight seems key to a quick-rise to the elusive crossover star status. But, as this writer said elsewhere: “Crawford has ranged from indifferent to belligerently dismissive when it comes to facing Ennis. And, to be fair, Ennis has not seemed all that enthusiastic about facing Crawford, even when ‘calling him out.’

There was a token “calling out” of Crawford (who stopped Avanesyan in six rounds back in 2022) after Saturday’s fight, but nothing that seemed “for real” serious.

“Let’s make it happen. I want the big fights. Terence Crawford or anyone else at that weight, let’s get it,” Ennis said in his post-fight interview. Crawford, by the way, had already responded to Ennis’ performance with a dismissive “World class fighter now, huh?” on Twitter/X.

World class fighter now hun? 🤣🤣🤣 my the double standards be crazy!!! @EddieHearn you talk good.

— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) July 14, 2024

Barring some money machinations by the Saudis and their front man Turki Alalshikh (which have already been rumored), Ennis-Crawford is a longshot at the moment.

More and more, it appears that “Boots” will have to take a long, drawn-out route to even begin knocking at the door of true stardom.

That means working to unify the welterweight division, putting his IBF belt against the belts of WBC welterweight champ Mario Barrios, WBA champ Eimantas Stanionis, and WBO titlist Brian Norman. This, itself, might prove to be a long and frustrating route as Barrios and Stanionis fight under the PBC banner and Norman is a Top Rank fighter. And since all three would be decided underdogs against Ennis, it might require some big money to make any sort of cross-company, cross-platform fight.

A move up to 154 would see similar roadblocks as Crawford gets set to challenge for his first title(s) there against WBA champ Israil Madrimov on the Saudi-organized August 3 card in Los Angeles. Golden Boy’s Vergil Ortiz Jr. seems to have his own path set (versus interim WBC 154 lb. champion Serhii Bohachuk, August 10) as do junior middleweights like Sebastian Fundora and Tim Tszyu.

Most likely, Ennis will have to continue to face the “next best availables,” as he did during his rise to his current level.

Original opponent for this past Saturday, Cody Crowley, seems like a logical next opponent. Maybe Hearn could scrape up some Euro chum after that. It’s not likely that Hearn would let his welterweight property Conor Benn within sniffing distance of Ennis right now, so that’s out of the question. Maybe Main Events cashes out on their IBF junior middleweight champ Bakhram Murtazaliev with a Boots fight?

None of that is too appealing, especially for a guy who’s been convinced that he’s now firmly on the road to superstar status.