By Matt Lieberman: IBF interim welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis defends next month on July 8th against Roiman Villa on Showtime at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlanta City, New Jersey. The Ennis vs. Villa event will start at 9:30 p.m. ET.
As hardcore boxing fans already know, the Ennis-Villa fight was unofficially announced well over a month ago, but now it’s a done deal.
This is another stay-busy fight for Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs), who has patiently awaited a title shot against champion IBF champion Errol Spence since winning the interim title earlier this year in January against Karen Chukhadzhian.
Villa, 30, is a pure slugger with one notable win in his career against Rashidi Ellis last January. The Colombian Villa was on his way to losing the but took advantage of Ellis gassing out in the championship round, and he wound up pulling out the victory.
If Villa beat Boots Ennis, it would be his second major upset of the year, but it will require a different game plan. Going straight at Ennis as Villa did against Rashidi isn’t advisable because Boots does well against guys that come to him.
Ennis has more power than Rashidi and superior stamina and boxing skills. Depending on how he wants to play it, he’ll either knock out Villa or box his way to a wide decision. This is an upgrade for Boots Ennis from his last opponent Chukhadzhian, but not enough of one to worry him.
At least with this one, Ennis won’t be fighting another runner because Villa will fight, and not go into survival mode from the opening bell like we saw the little-known Chukhadzhian do against Boots.
A lot of boxing fans feel that Boots Ennis’ stock went down because of his less-than-impressive performance against Chukhadzhian.
Ennis went wrong by choosing to head-hunt all night, which was a mistake because Chukhadzhian was running around the ring and impossible to hit with punches to the head.
Ennis should have made adjustments after the first couple of rounds to target the body of Chukhadzhian with spearing shots that would have taken his legs away, forcing him to stand and fight.
Oddly enough, Boots didn’t do that. Whether that was his or his trainer’s fault is unclear. But with Boots’ knowledge of the game, he should have already known how to deal with a fighter just trying to survive and not win.
The way things are now set up, with Spence likely to face WBO champion Terence Crawford twice this year, Boots Ennis won’t be able to fight for the IBF title until 2024. He’ll likely be elevated to IBF champion when the smoke clears from the two Spence vs. Crawford fights.
That’s not the best way for Ennis to become the IBF champion, as his popularity would increase if he won it inside the ring, but Crawford and Spence have not shown any interest in fighting him. Unfortunately, the winner of their second fight will likely vacate rather than fight Boots.
Given the time that Boots will be waiting, he’ll probably need to take another stay-busy fight after he deals with Villa.
“My main focus right now is July 8th. I’m ready to rip up
Villa. That’s my main focus right now. I’m not worried about those other guys,” said Boots Ennis to YSM Sports Media when asked if he’s looking forward to fighting for the belts after welterweight champions Errol Spence and Terence Crawford move up to 154.
“After I get that win on July 8th, we can talk about that, but right now, my main focus is Villa. Ripping him up and bringing him down and getting that knockout.
“We want to get back in action and stay active. I don’t want to be sitting around waiting for these guys,” said Ennis to Blue Blood Sports TV. “I want to stay sharp and keep making statements.”
