Jaron Ennis is a brilliant fighter who will be making his junior middleweight debut Saturday in his Philadelphia hometown, and as Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn predicted in Thursday’s press conference, he may even be a future pound-for-pound No. 1.
But “Boots” doth protest too much.
Ennis, 34-0 (30 KOs), doesn’t have a great deal of experience playing the carnival barker, so he can be forgiven for overselling a certain narrative going into Saturday’s matchup with unproven Angola-born Portugal resident Uisma Lima.
“I'm glad that he thinks he's confident. I like it – I like the confidence. But he talks too much,” Ennis said of Lima at Thursday’s presser in Philadelphia. “You know, he going to get exactly what he is looking for, and that’s an early night. I'm gonna have some fun and I'm going to show up. I'm not here to play games. I know what he is going to bring to the table.”
Meanwhile, Lima, 14-1 (10 KOs), hasn’t had a great deal to say at all in the lead-up to Saturday, let alone offered any significant trash talk or disrespect of Ennis.
“Thank you to Matchroom for this fight of my life,” Lima said. “We train for this moment, these events, and we have put in the camp of our lives for this fight. I'm in the best shape of my life. I'm ready for this fight. I come into this fight with zero fear.
“They know I can beat him. I know he’s an elite fighter, but I am, too. I have everything I need: ring IQ, footwork, I am fast, I have strength, I have an offense, and I am best shape of my life. I can do everything he can do.”
They say it’s not boasting if you can back it up, though Lima will have a tall order ahead of him to show he’s in Ennis’ class. Lima, 32, has fought (and fell to) Aaron McKenna and faced little other competition of note in his 15-fight career. Saturday’s bout will be his first in the United States.
“He definitely a good fighter for sure, I’ve watched him and I like what I see. But there’s levels, though,” Ennis said. “He’s fighting those guys over there, they don't have my skill to go with my power and my ability. I'm on a whole different level. When he actually gets in there with me on Saturday night, he going to be like, ‘Yo, he is a lot faster than I thought, stronger than I thought, slicker.’”
Whether Ennis is putting words in his opponent’s mouth, Lima needs to be concerned about how to prevent him from routinely stuffing it full of leather. Ennis broke apart the rugged Eimantas Stanionis in six rounds in his final defense at welterweight in April, and he came within a whisker of following up with a challenge of interim titleholder Vergil Ortiz Jnr. Lima, to this point, has done nothing to show he’s capable of even giving Ennis decent rounds over a scheduled 12.
“This road warrior thing he’s got going on, he’s about to fight in front of my fans in Philly – it’s a whole different energy and vibe,” Ennis said of Lima. “I’m glad he’s accepted the fight, and appreciate you for it, but you’ll see me on Saturday night and you all know my slogan: We’re in and out like a robbery.”
