Jaron “Boots” Ennis will challenge Xander Zayas for the unified WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles on June 27 in Brooklyn. The undefeated Philadelphia native, a former unified welterweight champion, is confident he will take the belts by knockout.
Ennis believes his move to 154 pounds marks the beginning of his takeover of the sport. He made it clear that he views himself as the superior fighter in any weight class he enters. “I’m the man in any division I fight in, said Ennis to Matchoom Boxing. I feel like I’m taking over boxing, starting this Saturday, and you will hear the words ‘and the new’.” This is a direct warning to Zayas and the entire division.
The former welterweight kingpin is predicting a dominant performance. Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) has already shown his power translates to the new weight, scoring a first-round knockout of Uisma Lima in his junior middleweight debut last October. He feels stronger and more comfortable at 154 pounds. “I feel great this weight, said Ennis. I’m more comfortable and I do what I want on June 27. Whatever he thinks he does well, I do better. You cannot jab better than me. You are not faster than me. You are not slicker than me. You are not stronger than me. Your defense is not better than mine. Your footwork is not better than mine. It’s levels.”
This fight represents the most significant challenge of Zayas’s career. The champion (23-0, 13 KOs) unified the titles in January with a victory over Abass Baraou, but Ennis is widely considered one of boxing’s most skilled fighters. For Ennis, the bout is an opportunity to silence any doubters and add more hardware to his collection. “I’m just excited to be fighting a guy that got two belts, one of the top guys in the division, and I’m ready to shut everybody up, said Ennis. Those belts are coming back home to Philly. It’s time to have fun, make it easy work, look phenomenal, and come home with a big knockout.”
A victory for Ennis would make him a two-weight unified champion and solidify his standing as one of the sport’s pound-for-pound best. For Zayas, defeating Ennis would be a career-defining win, proving he is the legitimate king of the junior middleweight division.
