Jaron “Boots” Ennis the IBF world champion has been ducked by Brian Norman Jr the WBO world champion. It is reported by Eddie Hearn himself in multiple interviews such as those with Matchroom and IFL TV. Hearn (Ennis’ promoter) revealed that he made offers to Norman Jr’s team in the millions and that Ennis was willing to take pay cuts to get the fight. For context Ennis is a lot bigger than Norman Jr in terms of popularity and generally has achieved more in his career.
Implications of Ennis’ Rejected Deal
Hearn in these interviews was very frustrated and rightfully so. It is apparent to most fans that Jaron Ennis is currently the best welterweight in the world right now. So Hearn Ennis’ promoter wants to prove that by making unifications. And it is incredibly frustrating when unifications are attempted to be made but one side is shutting it down. This also isn’t ideal given Jaron is a big welterweight and may have to move up.
Any further attempts at a deal have now been delayed due to Jaron having a mandatory opponent Karen Chukhadzian. Boots has already beaten Chukhadzian thoroughly when they first fought in 2023. Subsequently Chukhadzian’s promoter has won the purse bid for the fight according to Michael Benson. It is unclear what the next move will be from Hearn and Ennis. Either Boots defends or vacates and if he vacates he may as well move up to 154lbs.
Subsequently Brian Norman Jr’s next fight has been announced. He will fight Derrieck Cuevas an absolute nobody compared to Boots. On top of that his fight will be on the undercard of Keyshawn Davis vs Gustavo Lemos. Undoubtedly Norman will make way less than if he had taken the fight with Jaron. This is very disappointing news and hopefully Ennis will be able to find more willing dance partners in future.
Featured image credits to Embed from Getty Images
