Jaron Ennis and Josh Kelly are moving toward a unification fight in December or very early January, with Eddie Hearn saying he can activate the matchup through their existing contracts. There is still no confirmed date or venue, leaving the timing as the clearest update.
Hearn’s explanation gives the proposed fight more substance than a public callout. Both fighters are under contract to him, and he says those agreements provide a route to making the bout. The remaining work is turning that contractual position into a scheduled event.
“It’s either December or very early January,” Hearn told reporters when asked about a date and venue.
“Obviously, we have both fighters under contract. So when we say terms agreed, ultimately in Josh Kelly’s contract I can activate a Boots fight, and in Boots’s contract I can activate a Josh Kelly fight. So that is effectively what we’ll be doing for a unification fight up next.”
That also explains what Hearn means by agreed terms. His answer points to provisions already in the fighters’ contracts, rather than a newly completed agreement with every event detail settled. It is progress, but fans still need an announcement before planning around either month.
The attraction of a unification fight for Kelly comes with the difficulty of facing Ennis. His movement and changes of pace could make the early rounds awkward, but he would need to keep producing clean work as Ennis presses forward. Making an opponent miss is only part of winning rounds.
Ennis would have his own tactical task: cutting off Kelly’s exits without spending long stretches following him around the ring. Pressure becomes more effective when it forces exchanges, particularly against someone who prefers room to move.
Hearn has identified Ennis–Kelly as the next fight he intends to activate. Whether it lands before the end of the year or slips into January remains unresolved, along with where the unification will take place.