WBA junior middleweight champion Abass Baraou, after watching Abass Baraou capture the interim junior middleweight world title last Saturday night in Philadelphia, said he “would be ready to fight” Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
(Source: Emma Brawley Boxing in the Match Room)
Baraou throws his name in the “Boots” hat.
Baraou (17-1, 9 KO) would like to test his skills against the undefeated Ennis (35-0, 31 KO), if a match can be negotiated. He says there’s a lot of pressure on him and he can’t wait to see how “Boots” handles it.
“I would be ready for such a fight. I’m willing to fight Boots,” said WBA junior middleweight champion Abass Baraou. Professional boxing fans about his interest in defending against Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
Eddie Hearn looks at Ortiz but Baraou waits
Ennis and his promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned Abass’s name at the post-fight press conference last Saturday night after his first-round demolition against Lima (14-2, 10 KO) at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia. However, both have made it clear that they would like to fight Vergil Ortiz Jr. next if possible.
“I’m looking forward to a great fight. I’m putting a lot of pressure on myself. I’d love to see how he handles a fighter like me. He would be my opponent to prove that I’m the best,” Abass said.
Baraou was elevated to the WBA 154 title on September 21–23, 2025. This was shortly after previous champion Terence Crawford vacated the title on September 13. To get Baraou in line for the promotion, he defeated interim WBA junior middleweight champion Yoenis Tellez via 12-round unanimous decision on August 23, 2025 in Orlando, Florida.
“Top Rank contacted us to unite with Xander. Vergil Ortiz is also an opponent I want to test against. We are looking forward to another great fight. I like the fight with Xander,” said Baraou.
Can Baraou tempt Ennis into a title fight?
A astute move on Baraou’s part would be to head towards a unification fight with WBO champion Xander Zayas to pick up his belt and exploit it as bait to lure “Boots” Ennis into fighting him. Holding just one title may not be enough to keep Baraou interested in “Boots” and Hearn.
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Mexican boxing legend Erik Morales, who is the same age as Floyd Mayweather, presented his version of the 49-year-old’s expected rematch with Manny Pacquiao.
The two pound-for-pound icons will face off in a professional competition on September 19, headlining the Netflix event at The Sphere in Las Vegas.
However, their second meeting seemed to be in jeopardy after Mayweather stated last month that it would be an exhibition match.
Pacquiao and his team have since stated that it will be a fully sanctioned fight, but we are still waiting for an official announcement.
Their first meeting took place in 2015 and earned Mayweather a unanimous decision victory in an event that quickly became known as the most lucrative boxing event of all time.
But now the 47-year-old hopes to break Mayweather’s 50-0 record after ending his nearly four-year hiatus from professional boxing last July.
But while the Filipino drew with Mario Barrios, the then-WBC welterweight champion, many suggested he and Mayweather shouldn’t be entering the ring at this stage of their lives.
One of them is Morales, who fought Pacquiao three times, winning the first meeting but losing the next two. He told Fight Hub TV that the rematch would be won by the Hall of Famer who turned down the fight the least.
“We’re not at the age to get into fights. But hey, it’ll be intriguing. Whoever arrives the least injured and a little faster, [will win]”
Erik Morales Predicts Mayweather vs Pacquiao 2‼️‼️
“We’re not at the age to get into fights… This will be intriguing. Whoever wins must come to fight less hurt and a little faster!” – Erik Morales
“You can’t be disappointed with something that never happened,” Finkel told Sky Sports. “Eddie never contacted us and Joshua obviously had no intention of fighting Deontay Wilder. Same venerable story, just novel date.”
The comments question Eddie Hearn’s recent suggestions that Anthony Joshua could face Wilder ahead of his planned clash with Tyson Fury in slow 2026.
Joshua is instead scheduled to face Kristian Prenga on July 25 in Riyad, ending any immediate speculation about the long-discussed clash with Wilder.
Just a few weeks ago, Eddie Hearn was here calling Wilder a warm-up fight for Joshua’s scheduled fight with Tyson Fury. This is a solemn marketing move. This keeps the fans engaged and gives the impression that AJ is willing to take on the most risky puncher in the league just to keep himself busy.
However, Shelly Finkel’s answer is fascinating. He firmly stated that there was “no reason” to be frustrated because no real approach was ever taken. If Hearn was solemn, the first step would have been to email or call Finkel. According to Wilder’s camp, such a thing never happened.
Instead of Wilder, Joshua is now officially scheduled to face the little-known Prenga. This move serves two purposes for Joshua’s camp: It is a much safer fight as Joshua rehabs from his car accident earlier this year. It also opens the door to a massive fight with Fury in slow 2026 without the risk of Wilder ruining a payday with one right hand.
This has been a pattern for years. We saw this in 2019 when uncontested talks failed, and again in 2023 when both were on the “Day of Reckoning” card but never actually paired up.
Wilder, who recently returned to the ring after a victory over Derek Chisora, also mentioned his interest in a future fight with unified champion Oleksandr Usyk.
Finkel’s comments suggest that Joshua’s fight remains in familiar territory, being discussed publicly but never formally pursued behind the scenes.
The star fighter, who has made an astonishing 15 defenses of his welterweight world title, supported himself in a fantastic showdown with Terence Crawford.
He had previously won seven straight 147-pound world titles, all through stoppages, but he could only cement his position as top dog by dethroning Spence.
Not only did he defeat “The Truth” and win his three world titles, but Crawford secured a surprisingly one-sided defeat over nine rounds.
After that career-defining moment, the American became the undisputed three-division champion, moving up to 168 pounds to dethrone Canelo Alvarez.
However, at welterweight, Crawford managed to produce some of his best performances, perhaps striking the perfect balance between being vigorous and impressively fit.
Another man who has had considerable success at 147 pounds is, of course, Felix Trinidad, who reigned as the IBF world champion for almost seven years.
Two of his greatest victories came against Oscar De La Hoya and Pernell Whitaker, who both went on to create Hall of Fame careers in their own right.
It is therefore natural that “Tito” sees his chances in a direct fight with Crawford, saying: Fighting Hub TV that he would give “Bud” his only professional flaw.
“With all due respect to Crawford…Tito Trinidad – I will win.”
While no fighter has been able to answer Crawford’s mystery, it is equally safe and sound to say that the former five-division world champion has never faced someone like Trinidad.
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