By Jake Tiernan: Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis says he’s going to be looking to steal the show when he battles Karen Chukhadzhian (21-1, 11 KOs) for the IBF interim welterweight title in the co-feature bout on January 7th on the Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis vs. Hector Luis Garcia card on Showtime pay-per-view at the Capitol One Arena in Washington, D.C.
A victory for the 25-year-old Ennis (29-0, 27 KOs) will put him in a position where he can force a fight against IBF welterweight champion Errol Spence Jr in 2023.
If Spence doesn’t fight Ennis, his IBF belt will be stripped from him if he doesn’t vacate it first.
Ideally, Spence should do the right thing by facing Boots to give him his shot at his IBF belt while he’s still in possession of it.
Spence seems more focused on the fights against existing belt holders at this point in his career, and unfortunately for Ennis, he doesn’t hold a belt yet because he’s not been allowed to battle for one of the belts.
Ennis is one of those types of fighters that virtually everybody avoids at 147, and that problem will likely continue once he moves up to 154.
Boots wants to quickly grab all four of the 147-lb titles and then move up to 154 to capture all the belts in that weight class.
What’s slowing Boots down is the welterweight champions Spence and Terence Crawford not giving him a chance to battle for their belts.
“Fighting on a big pay-per-view card like this, I can’t wait to shine. I’m ready to get in there,” said Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to BSOTV with Robert Littal about his fight against Karen Chukhadzhian on January 7th on Showtime pay-per-view.
“If they can’t fight each other, I’m always available,” said Jaron Ennis about Errol Spence Jr and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford. “Those are the main two guys that I want. They’re two great fighters, but I want to show the world that I’m on a different level.
“Give me those two guys or whoever. I’m ready. I want to take the belts from them. That’s what they say. They call me the boogeyman. If we get them, we get them. If not, I’ll see one of them at 154,” Ennis said about Spence & Crawford. “I feel, I’ll run into them.
“They can’t hide for too long. Wherever they go, I’ll be there right behind them. If I’ve got to fight for a vacant title, that’s fine. I’d rather go take that belt from that man. If it was up to me, I’d rather fight them, but if I have to fight for the vacant belt, that’s fine too.
“Either way, it doesn’t really matter as long as I get my hands on one of those belts. Once I get my hands on one of those belts, it’s time to collect the rest and then move to 154.
“That’s the goal. I’m here to steal the show,” said Boots Ennis about wanting to steal the show from the main event fighters Gervonta ‘Tank’Davis vs. Hector Luis Garcia on January 7th.
“I know Tank is in the main event, but I’m here to steal the show, take over the show, and have the best knockout and best performance. That’s what I’m looking to do. Open the people’s eyes and let the world know that I’m here and things like that. They’re going to see it on January 7th.
“Fighting in January is perfect. I should get at least three fights in this year. That’s the goal, three fights in this year. Nothing more, nothing less,” continued Boots Ennis.
“No, I haven’t done any research on him. I let my dad, my brothers, and my team do stuff like that,” said Ennis when asked if he’s seen any of his opponent Chukhadzhian’s past fights.
“I didn’t know too much about him at all, but from what my dad, and my brothers are saying, we got something for him. I take every fight seriously, I don’t sleep on nobody. Every fight that I have, I train like it’s a world title fight.
“I’m going in there to do damage and go home. Go in there and get the knockout, bring the IBF interim belt home and go chill with my family. I don’t care what anyone says.
“I’m always locked in, and always focused on my opponents in front of me. I’m never overlooking them, and we’re going to be ready on January 7th. I don’t feel I need rounds. Whatever the fight might go, it don’t matter to me. If it goes eight, it goes eight. If it goes twelve, it goes twelve.
“If I knock them out in the first round, I don’t get paid for overtime. It doesn’t matter to me,” said Boots Ennis.