By: Hans Themistode
Jaron Ennis has been screaming for one of the bigger names in the welterweight division to step up and face him in the ring. Now, the rising contender will get exactly what he was looking for.
According to multiple reports, former 140-pound titleholder and current 147-pound contender Sergey Lipinets, has agreed to terms on a bout agreement with Ennis for a Showtime headlining event set to take place sometime in May.
For Lipinets, a win over Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs) would do wonders to raise his stock and remove much of the sting associated with his most recent contest. In late October just last year, the Kazakhstan native took on fringe contender Custio Clayton. While many believed Lipinets would walk right through his man, Clayton proved to be better than advertised as he pushed Lipinets to the limit and forced the former belt holder to settle for a majority decision draw.
Since then, Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) has remained idle on the sidelines. His aforementioned draw with Clayton set the long time contender back as their bout was for the interim IBF welterweight title. Winning their showdown would have placed Lipinets in the driver’s seat as the clear next opponent for unified champion Errol Spence Jr.
Since moving up in weight in late 2018, Lipinets has won every single one of his contests, with the exception of Clayton, with relative ease. The lone blemish on the 31-year-olds record came at the hands of former multiple division champion Mikey Garcia in March of 2018.
In the case of Ennis, his scheduled contest with Lipinets will be considered a major step up in competition for the Philadelphia product.
After picking up quick knockout victories in 16 straight contests, Ennis saw his streak come to an abrupt end in an unlikely way. With the start of the new year rapidly approaching, Ennis attempted to score one more highlight-reel worthy win. On December 19th, fringe contender Chris Van Heerden found himself on the wrong end of a beating as Ennis pounded away at him in the first round of their 2020 contest.
With the win seemingly just a few seconds away, Ennis and Heerden accidentally clashed heads. While Ennis was just fine, Heerden on the other hand, was not as blood gushed from the massive cut. His cornermen worked tirelessly to contain the bleeding but simply could not. Due to the enormous gash, doctors sitting ringside deemed Heerden unable to continue, ruling their matchup a no contest.
Ennis, of course, was apoplectic with the results. However, with the opportunity to face his first real contender, the 23-year-old is currently back in the gym preparing for the biggest test of his young career.