Jaron Ennis needed less than two minutes to remind boxing why he’s long been considered the sport’s next big thing. The 28-year-old Philadelphian nicknamed Boots flattened Uisma Lima on Saturday night at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, marking an explosive debut at 154lb and setting the stage for the far bigger challenges that await him next year. Ennis dropped the sturdy but unheralded Lima three times in 118 seconds, igniting the rollicking hometown crowd squarely in his corner.
Jaron Ennis needed less than two minutes to remind boxing why he’s long been considered the sport’s next big thing. The 28-year-old Philadelphian nicknamed Boots flattened Uisma Lima on Saturday night at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, marking an explosive debut at 154lb and setting the stage for the far bigger challenges that await him next year.
Ennis dropped the sturdy but unheralded Lima three times in 118 seconds, igniting the rollicking hometown crowd squarely in his corner. A concussive right uppercut started the unraveling, followed by two blistering flurries that left his Portugal-based Angolan opponent unable to continue. Referee Shawn Clark waved it off at 1:58 of the opening round, giving the unbeaten Ennis his 35th professional win, his 31st inside the distance, and the kind of statement that reverberates through the sport even in a mismatch. “The more I move up, the stronger I get,” Ennis said afterward. “This is my division now. I sent a big message tonight.”
That message was aimed squarely at Vergil Ortiz Jr. The undefeated Texan, who holds the WBC’s interim junior middleweight title, is expected to meet Ennis in early 2026 in what promoter Eddie Hearn called “one of the best fights to be made in American boxing”. The Matchroom Boxing supremo confirmed that an agreement with Golden Boy Promotions is already in place, pending Ortiz’s November title defense against Erickson Lubin.
Saturday’s quick destruction doubled as vindication for Ennis, who’d spent years draining himself to make 147lb. His father and trainer, Derek “Bozy” Ennis, had long said the welterweight cut cost him strength and sharpness. “He was killing himself to make 147,” Hearn said. “Now we’re seeing the real Boots: closer to 100%. He’s massive, powerful and finally free.”
Lima, a fringe contender and distant 10-1 underdog, barely had time to test him. After probing with a few jabs, Ennis switched to a southpaw stance and sneaked in a left uppercut that lifted Lima’s head like a hinge before landing two more shots that dropped him flat on his back.
After beating the count, Lima’s balance was gone and his eyes told the story. Ennis moved in coldly, hammering him with another crisp burst that deposited him on the canvas a second time. When Lima rose again, he staggered backward into a neutral corner, where Ennis closed the distance and let his hands go. The fusillade of punches left the referee with no choice but to step in as the towel came flying from Lima’s corner. When it was over, Ennis looked almost sheepish at the ease of it.
There is no shortage of opportunities for Ennis in a deep 154lb division, including newly minted beltholders Xander Zayas and Abass Baraou or the popular Sebastian Fundora, whose hand injury last week postponed his title defense against Keith Thurman.
But none would move the needle quite like Ortiz. The two have circled each other for years, twin comets on parallel trajectories, their eventual collision long predicted and eagerly awaited. “It’s going to happen next,” Ennis said. “He’s got his fight coming up. If he don’t win, I’ll fight the winner of that. I want Vergil Ortiz next.”
Category: General Sports
