By Matt Lieberman: Welterweight contenders Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Sergey Lipinets both made weight on Friday for their 12-round main event fight this Saturday night on Showtime on April 10th. The Ennis vs. Lipinets card starts at 9:00 p.m. ET / 6:00 p.m. PT on Showtime.
Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs) weighed in at 146.4 lbs, and his opponent, former IBF light welterweight champion Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) weighed in at 146.8 lbs.
Ennis vs. Lipinets will be taking place at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Connecticut. Premier Boxing Champions will be promoting the event.
Ennis ready for a world title shot
The 23-year-old Ennis believes that a victory over Lipinets will lead to him getting a boost in his rankings for him to challenge one of the three world champions at 147: Errol Spence Jr, Yordenis Ugas, or Terence Crawford.
As good as Ennis is, it’s a tall order for him to try and beat Spence or Crawford. Even Ugas would be a real handful for Ennis, and he might not be capable of getting the job done.
2016 Olympian Eimantas Stanionis (12-0, 9 KOs) weighed in at 147 lbs for his 12 round WBA welterweight title eliminator against Thomas Dulorme (25-4-1, 16 KOs).
For his part, Dulorme weighed in at 146.4 lbs. The winner of the Stanionis vs. Dulorme fight will be the mandatory for WBA champion Yordnis Ugas.
IBF super flyweight champion Jerwin Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KOs) weighed in at 114.8 lbs for his title defense against Jonathan Rodriguez (22-1, 16 KOs). Rodriguez weighed in at 115 lbs.
“Pretty Boy” Ancajas says he’d like to fight Roman ‘Chocolatito’ Gonzalez or whoever the winner is left over after Srisaket Sor Rungvisai, Carlos Cuadras Juan Francisco Estrada, Gonzalez fight is out in their mini-tourney.
Other weights on the Ennis vs. Lipinets card:
- Mark Magsayo 126.8 vs. Pablo Cruz 127
- Evan Holyfield 154.2 vs. Nicholas Compton 155
Jaron planning on dominating Lipinets
“This is going to help get to the next level,” said Jaron Ennis to SI Boxing with Chris Mannix. “I just focus on myself, getting better each and every time. Most definitely, it’s been hard to get big fights, and I finally got my opportunity this Saturday.
“I was like, ‘Thank you,’ because I’ve been waiting for these types of fights forever,” said Ennis about what he thought when he found out he got the fight against Lipinets.
“It’s been two years, and I finally got a guy that is a former world champion and he’s a top guy. It’s the perfect timing, it’s my time.
“I can’t wait, and it’s going to be a great night on Saturday night. No, I didn’t watch his fight [against Lamont Peterson].
“I know he’s going to be right in front of me and try and walk forward. It’s going to be a long night for him. I want to put on a dominating, crushing performance, and then get the knockout later on,” said Ennis.
Lipinets has never been knocked out before in his career, and it would say a lot if Ennis were able to stop him. This still won’t be an easy fight for Ennis because Lipinets is a lot better than the guys that he’s been facing. There are no comparisons.
Ennis sees himself heading towards stardom
“Definitely, this is the one right here,” said Ennis. “This is the one that is going to put me onto the next level,” said Ennis when asked who he needs to fight for him to get a path to a world title shot.
“After I do my thing on Saturday, and do it in a dominating fashion, this will boost my rankings up to superstardom and maybe to a pay-per-view star one day.
“This is the time right here to show out and be dominant, be great and come home with a big knockout. It’ll be on to bigger and better things.
“Maybe a top-three guy next time I fight or a top-five guy and a world title by the end of the year. Hopefully, that’s how I go, it’s time.
“You can say that [Ennis needing to be made mandatory to get a title shot], but after I win this Saturday, there’s no way they can deny me.
“It should put me right there at the top of the top. I feel like I should be right there. I might have to become mandatory. And I have no problem with that.
“You have to work your way up to become a world titleholder. That’s what I’m doing right now. This is the start of it. All they got to do is call,” said Ennis when asked if he’d be willing to fight Vergil Ortiz.
“I’ve been waiting for 2 1/2 years just to get in the ring with a former world champion or a top 10 or top 5.
“This is my opportunity, and I can’t wait to do my thing and make my dreams come true and boost my ratings up and do it in a spectacular fashion on Saturday night. I grew up watching Roy Jones, Pernell Whitaker, and Floyd.
Ennis is getting ahead of himself right now in assuming he’s going to become a star after beating Lipinets.
First things first, Ennis has got to beat Lipinents, and then look to defeat a highly ranked contender in a title eliminator. It’s doubtful that any of the PBC’s well-known welterweights would be willing to fight Ennis. I’m talking about these guys:
- Danny Garcia
- Shawn Porter
- Keith Thurman
- Mikey Garcia
Vergil Ortiz Jr would be an ideal opponent for Ennis, but he’s not someone that will likely be given the green light to fight him. If so, Boots will have a real fight on his hands.
Boots learned from watching greats
“The shots that they don’t see are the ones that always knock them out or hurt, and that’s one of the things I watch when I look at Roy Jones,” said Ennis.
“The same thing with Floyd and Pernell. You make a certain move and hit them with a shot, and they don’t see you.
“That’s what I’ve been watching and stealing and getting from my dad as well too. It’s almost time for me to be a world champion soon.
“I had a pro-style coming up because that’s all I ever seen, and that’s all I trained with was pros. All I ever sparred with were pros, so I developed a pro-style early.
“I never threw a lot of punches as an amateur, but my shots were always accurate and hurting guys. I wanted to turn pro at 16, but I waited it out,” said Ennis.
Like a lot of great fighters, Ennis learned from observation, and he had some great teachers in Floyd Mayweather Jr, Roy Jones Jr and Pernell Whitaker.
Jerwin Ancajas wants Chocolatito
“I’m very comfortable right now at 115 pounds,” said Ancajas. “I’m looking to win on Saturday night and I want to fight whoever is left after the four-man tournament between Rungvisai, Chocolatito, Estrada, and Cuadras,” said Jerwin Ancajas.
“I would fight Ioka too. I would want to fight Chocolatito because I always watched him on TV and he’s my idol. Now, if I have the opportunity to fight Chocolatito I really want that fight,” said Ancajas.
It’s possible that Ancajas could get a shot against the winner of the mini-tourney at 115, but it’s doubtful that he’ll get a fight against Chocolatito. There’s no money in a fight between Chocolatito and Ancajas.
