By: Hans Themistode
Slowly but surely, Jaron Ennis has gotten the attention of every notable welterweight in the world. The deleterious knockout artist has warned every challenger that was placed in front of him of an otherworldly beating that was heading in their direction. To no one’s surprise, he has backed up every word he’s spouted on his way to a spotless record through 28 career fights.
The fists of the 24-year-old switch-hitter out of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, caused even more damage this past year.
In the first half of 2021, Ennis took on former 140 pound champion Sergey Lipinets. Despite the step up, Ennis discarded his man in explosive fashion, forcing Lipinets to kiss the canvas in the fourth round before he ultimately laid motionless in the sixth.
For an encore, Lipinets easily took care of business against Thomas Dulorme in the final quarter of the year. The Philadelphian dropped Dulorme with a pernicious right hook at the beginning of the opening round, before closing the show several seconds later.
With Ennis leaving a long trail of welterweight bodies, he’s continually banged on the door of Errol Spence Jr., Yordenis Ugas, and Terence Crawford – the division’s three belt holders.
In the case of Spence Jr., in particular, Ennis has taken a liking to a showdown against him. Although he isn’t picky, considering that Spence Jr. holds two welterweight titles at the moment, more than both Ugas and Crawford, Ennis views a showdown against him as a quicker way to reach his undisputed goals.
Presently, it’s practically impossible for Spence Jr. to not have taken notice of what Ennis has accomplished. And, by all accounts, the unified titlist is thoroughly impressed.
“Jaron, I feel like he’s very skilled, got a lot of good talent, good reflexes.” Said Spence Jr. to a group of reporters. “He can really fight. I like him. He got a lot of talent, I respect the talent. He got all the tools for real.”
Throughout it all, Spence Jr. has been able to take in the breathtaking skills of Ennis from a distance but in short order, he could be forced to deal with him up close and personal.
To begin his 2022, Ennis will take on fellow undefeated contender, Custio Clayton, in an IBF final eliminator, for a crack at Spence Jr. The two are tentatively scheduled to face off on May 21st at a yet-to-be-determined location.
Although a win for Ennis places him promptly to the front of Spence Jr.’s line, the Dallas native is preoccupied with other pressing matters. On April 16th, Spence Jr. will attempt to unify welterweight titles when he takes on WBA champion, Yordenis Ugas.
Ultimately, Spence Jr.’s immediate goal is to truncate the world title reign of Ugas before jumping straight away into an undisputed showdown against Crawford. Nevertheless, with other ideas in mind, Spence Jr. wants to make it clear that he isn’t eschewing a matchup against Ennis.
“In the future we’ll see, we’ll def see. I ain’t ducking or dodging nobody.”