Long before he stomped onto the world stage, Jaron Ennis believed that he was more than ready to stake his claim at a world title. Of course, a shot at championship glory isn’t always a fast process.
In the case of Ennis, he's done his best to leave an indelible mark on the rest of the welterweight division. But while he’s steamrolled his competition, Ennis finds himself on the outside looking in. As the 25-year-old continues to rack his brain in an attempt to come up with ideas that would lure the elite into the ring against him, he succinctly comes up with one possible solution.
“I feel like being up in the rankings high enough,” said Ennis to a group of reporters when asked what it will take for him to earn a title shot.
Although Ennis is correct to a certain extent, his current top three ranking in each of the four sanctioning bodies has done nothing to placate his championship wishes. Should the smooth switch-hitting star out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, take care of business on January 7th, against Karen Chukhadzhian and claim the IBF interim crown, Errol Spence Jr., the division’s unified champion, could be backed into a corner.
In any event, Spence, 32, has remained lukewarm to the idea. Should he decide to go in another direction, Ennis will remain on the hunt.
Similarly, fighters who have occupied Ennis’ very position have opted for a more loquacious and bombastic approach. Yet, despite Ennis possessing the sort of all-around game that warrants recognition, he admits that jumping on the microphone and brazenly calling out his contemporaries is something he isn’t interested in doing.
All along, Ennis enjoys remaining in the shadows until the time is right. While he acknowledges that becoming more of a talker could be beneficial, the rising contender confesses that the back-and-forth trash talk simply isn’t his style.
“Maybe talking a little more but I don’t do the talking, I’m all bite. I don’t gotta bark. I do my shouting in the ring.”
