The welterweight division is once again officially up for grabs.
Jaron “Boots” Ennis has confirmed that he will move on from the 147lbs division, where he reigns as the lineal champion and unified WBA/IBF titlist. The unbeaten 27-year-old from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania will now compete in the talent-rich junior middleweight division, his debut at the weight likely to come in the early fall.
“It’s time,” Ennis stated on his verified Instagram account. “154. Y’all said this where the smoke at, right? Let’s have it, then.”
The next step will be for Ennis, 34-0 (30 KOs), to formally relinquish his WBA and IBF belts. The latter will likely be at stake in the forthcoming Lewis Crocker-Paddy Donovan rematch planned to take place in the coming months. Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero, 17-2 (13 KOs) is the secondary WBA ‘World’ welterweight titlist, and will likely benefit from an upgrade with Ennis’ divisional departure.
Ennis has regularly campaigned at welterweight since 2016, with a few occasional bouts above the divisional limit. He emerged as a top contender on the other side of the pandemic and then claimed an interim title in 2023 as he awaited a shot at the main crown.
The IBF attempted to do its part, when Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford, 41-0 (31 KOs) was ordered to defend against Ennis shortly after his July 2023 undisputed championship knockout win over Errol Spence.
Crawford and his team waited until the end of the deadline to inform the IBF that he was contractually bound to a rematch with Spence, thus unable to honor his mandatory defense. The development led to Ennis being elevated to full IBF titlist, which he followed with three successful defenses.
The crowning achievement of that run came in his most recent start. Ennis manhandled Lithuania’s Eimantas Stanionis en route to a sixth-round stoppage in their April 12 WBA/IBF unification clash between unbeaten titlists in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
The sense was that Ennis was on borrowed time at the weight, as there was not a viable path to undisputed.
WBO titleholder Brian Norman, 27-0 (21 KOs) moved forward with plans for a title defense against Jin Sasaki, 19-1-1 (17 KOs), which takes place Thursday in Tokyo, Japan. WBC beltholder Mario Barrios, 29-2-1 (18 KOs) is set to take on legendary former eight-division titlist Manny Pacquiao, 62-8-2 (39 KOs) on July 19 in Las Vegas, Nevada.
High profile fight opportunities were explored with Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney, neither which advanced far enough along to keep Ennis at welterweight. In fact, a floated showdown with Haney was suggested to take place at junior middleweight - essentially a non-starter.
Ennis will now seek out the top talent already at the weight.
“[Two] weight division champion, [four-time] world champ loading,” insisted Ennis.