Eddie Hearn claims Matchroom has released Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis from his contract, but Hearn says they plan to keep IBF welterweight champion Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) for the rest of his career and would never release him in a ‘million years’.
An announcement for Boots’ next fight in November could come this Saturday or early next week, with Hearn stating he is in talks with IBF mandatory Karen Chukhadzhian’s management about arranging the fight, which he hopes will take place in Philadelphia.
This week, a tweet emerged about Matchroom’s plans to fire Ennis. Hearn says several media outlets have asked him if the tweet is true, and he says it’s not.
Boxing fans were left wondering whether Hearn still wanted to promote Boots after failing to secure a unification fight for him against WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. Hearn could have sealed the deal had he increased his offer from $1.7 million to $2.2 million, which Team Norman was asking for, but he chose not to.
Some fans felt that Hearn’s reluctance to invest $500,000 into Ennis’ career was a sign that he was not as keen to promote him over other fighters with less physical talent, such as Shakur Stevenson, who showered him with praise and reportedly paid him a fortune for his canceled fight with Joe Cordina.
When Hearn lost a bid to Karen Chukhadzhian for IBF mandatory Boots Ennis last week, it was further evidence that he is not in love with Jaron and has shown his disinterest in his promotion by acting stingy.
Hearn says the plan is for Boots Ennis to stay at 147 to try to collect all the belts. That’s where Ennis plans to stay, rather than moving up to 154, which is filled apex predators it would be risky for him.
“It’s just the most bizarre world we live in. Whatever you read on Twitter, 70%, maybe 80% of it is complete crap,” said Eddie Hearn iFL TVdenying that she is parting ways with Jaron “Boots” Ennis and parting ways with Matchroom.
“People think it’s true. We signed one of the biggest talents in boxing in the United States, Boots. I couldn’t be more proud to represent him. We just knocked out 15,000 people in Philadelphia. On what planet would we release Boots from his contract? No, never in a million years,” Hearn said.
It would be crazy for Hearn to get rid of Boots Ennis so quickly, considering he showered him with compliments from head to toe after recently signing him for Matchroom. Boots has fought just once since signing with Hearn, stopping veteran David Avanesyan in the fifth round on July 13.
After all the compliments Hearn showered on Boots, it was disappointing that he picked him against the 35-year-old Avanesyan rather than Brian Norman, Terence Crawford, Mario Barrios or Eimantas Stanionis.
If Hearn proves stingy when it comes to raising money to lure top fighters to fight Boots, then what is the point of keeping him in the locker room?
It makes no sense. It’s like buying an costly Ferrari and then keeping it in the garage 90% of the time, except for Sunday drives. If Hearn is going to make Boots a star, he’ll have to invest in his career. He may hate the idea now, but he’ll be glad he did later when it rains money every time Boots fights.
“That’s not what they meant by the tweet. They said, ‘Matchroom wants to fire Boots Ennis.’ No. We have a great relationship with Boots and Bozy. We definitely won’t fire him,” Hearn said of Boots. “His next fight is in November and it will be announced on Saturday, but probably early next week.”
I don’t know why Hearn is being so coy about who Boots Ennis will fight in November, given that it’s obviously going to be Karen Chukhadzhian, the same guy he beat by unanimous decision over 12 rounds last January in Washington.
“We got it [Karen] The Chukhadzhian fight, which is a rematch,” Hearn said. “We didn’t expect it, but we see the future at 147 pounds. We want to make sure he can get those unifications. There’s no guarantee that Norman, Stanionis and Barrios will fight Boots, but I’d like to try.”
If Hearn thinks Brian Norman Jr. will be worth less next year than the $2.2 million he’s asking for this time around, he’s kidding himself. If anything, Norman Jr. will want more money, and Hearn will be kicking himself for not agreeing to $2.2 million. Norman will defend his WBO title against Derrieck Cuevas on November 8 on ESPN+, and if he looks like gold in that fight, his value will raise and Hearn will have a much tougher fight ahead of him.
“There’s no rush in terms of weight to move up to 154, but that’s on the table as well,” Hearn continued of Boots’ options. “We’re in talks, but we’re definitely not releasing Boots from his contract. We hope to represent Boots for the rest of his career.”
I can’t blame Hearn for not wanting Boots Ennis to move up to 154 because that would be threatening for him, especially considering his lack of defense. They hit too challenging for a fighter who gets tagged as often as Ennis usually does in his fights.
If Ennis moves up to 154, there is a good chance the predators in that division will make life complex for him. Ennis would have to change his fighting style to become more of a boxer in order to succeed as a junior middleweight.
“We want to continue the success we had in Philadelphia,” Hearn said when asked if he would like Boots to defend Karen in Germany, given that Matchroom lost a bid for the prize pool to Chukhadzhian’s promoters. “So we’ll see. We’re also talking to Chukhadzhian’s team. We’ll see what happens.”
Andrew Moloney (left) attacks Pedro Guevara – photo: Mikey Williams/Top Rank
Few people were more disappointed than Andrew Moloney when Kosei Tanaka lost his WBO super flyweight belt to Phumelele Cafu at the Ariake Arena in Tokyo, Japan on Monday night.
The 33-year-old Australian veteran was hoping to get a shot at beating Tanaka in the lucrative Japanese market.
Those dreams were dashed when South Africa’s Cafu delivered the performance of his life, knocking out Tanaka in the fifth round and finishing the fight strongly, beating the four-weight world champion by split decision.
“The plan was to target the WBO and really chase the Tanaka fight, but it all fell apart on Monday night,” Moloney (26-4-1NC, 16 KO) told The Ring. “I think the WBO is probably still the direction we go, but I’m not sure if they have a rematch clause or if Tanaka will take it. But after watching the fight yesterday, I would be really confident that I could fight one of these guys and win. We would like to follow this path.
“I would love to fight Tanaka in Japan as a four-division world champion. He’s definitely someone I’ve looked up to and wanted to fight for a long time.
“Last night was a little hard to watch. The way he performed, I’m more confident than ever that I have what it takes to beat Tanaka.
I assume there will be a rematch and I hope that Tanaka will regain the belt and I will be able to return to the ring and climb the rankings, and maybe this fight will still happen.
Tanaka entered Moloney’s orbit four years ago when he debuted at 115 pounds. Earlier this year, it looked like they were also on a collision course, with Moloney being number one in the WBO rankings. However, when an offer was made for the vacant IBF lightweight title fight between Vasily Lomachenko and George Kambosos Jr. in May in Perth, Western Australia, Moloney felt he couldn’t turn her down.
This decision ended in disaster. Moloney faced Carlos Cuadras, who withdrew from the fight with a ruptured Achilles tendon and was replaced by Pedro Guevara. Moloney entered the fight with a torn bicep and was largely reduced to boxing with one hand, which circumscribed his punching power.
Still, Moloney felt he did more than enough to win, and was shocked when Guevara was declared the winner by split decision. He was so disappointed that he announced immediately after the fight that he was leaving the ring, but a few days later he withdrew these comments.
It was a breakthrough moment in his career.
“Looking back, it’s a wonderful thing, but watching the Tanaka-Cafu fight made me think that maybe I would do a lot of things if I could turn back time a little bit,” Moloney explained.
“Before my last fight, I was number one in the WBO rankings and I rejected the option of waiting to fight Tanaka. But the opportunity arose to fight Guevara in Australia for the interim WBC title on a major card, and to be candid, I kind of regretted that the Tanaka fight was hanging in the balance, but ultimately we decided to stay busy and take the opportunity to fight in Australia.
“Also, the injury before the fight was another thing I thought about: will I undergo surgery, keep the top spot and wait for Tanaka, but I made the decision to go ahead with the fight with Guevara. Looking back now, maybe it wasn’t the smartest thing to do. And looking at the way Tanaka fought last night, I thought maybe I should have waited. I’m sure I could beat Tanaka and take the belt away from him.
“So I take some consolation, but unfortunately you can’t turn back time.”
It’s been a frustrating year for Moloney, but he’s still hitting the gym and his team is working to get him another fight. The window of opportunity to box again this year is closing quickly, but he still hopes to return to the ring in December, most likely in his native Australia.
“I really hope so,” he said. “That’s what I’ve been working on. I have been training strenuous at the gym for some time, quite a few months. I hope to return before the end of the year.
“At this stage it will probably be December. I’m trying to block something, but so far no luck. I’m still training away as if the fight was to take place in December, the team is currently working on it and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that we’ll be able to finish it.
“I just hope we can get out before the end of the year, get back into the winner’s circle and start climbing the rankings again.”
Moloney, who fought at bantamweight for the first three years of his professional career before dropping down to super flyweight, surprisingly, said he would even consider moving up to another weight class given the right opportunity.
“It’s a tough time in the super flyweight division,” said Moloney, the eighth challenger to The Ring’s 115-pound title. “There’s a lot going on and it’s always strenuous to plan which route to take because everything changes so quickly. I’d pick Bam Rodriguez to beat Guevara, then there’s talk of a rematch between Kazuto Ioka and Fernando Martinez on Up-to-date Year’s Eve. And then there’s talk of Bama, if they win, fighting the winner of that game in unification. The WBO seems to me the fastest way to win the title, so that’s the path we will follow.
“We have also rejected for some time the idea of moving up to flyweight and getting crack there. There’s also some engaging scene going on there right now, but it’s still uncertain. I’d probably feel a little better at super flyweight, but we’ll have to wait and see what happens with Cafu and Tanaka, but like I said, I’d feel comfortable and confident against either of them, so hopefully he can make it it will happen sooner rather than later.”
Despite an impressive amateur resume, welterweight Benjamin Johnson of Springdale, Maryland, enters the professional ring with a shoulder injury.
Johnson will face Kevin Pantoja in a four-round fight at Rosecroft Raceway in Fort Washington, Maryland, promoted by his trainer Lamont Roach Snr’s NoXcuses Promotions. The fight will be broadcast on Saturday on ProBox TV.
Johnson, 1-0 (1 KO), spent just 2:23 in the ring in his professional debut, displaying the quick, aggressive hands that won him multiple national titles. However, 19-year-old Johnson feels an advantage, believing he is being overlooked by his NoXcuses Boxing Gym teammates.
Pantoja, 1-1, 27, has never stopped being a professional – Johnson aims to change that.
“People underestimate me,” Johnson said. “It’s been like that since I was an amateur.”
He added that this underestimation increases his motivation in the gym. Johnson is determined to prove his worth not only to himself, but also to those who doubt him or, worse, don’t recognize him. “I never felt like I was recognized as that guy, so I feel like I’m underappreciated,” Johnson said of his amateur and now professional career.
Johnson sees the fight as a key step in his career, compared to feared forward David Benavidez by some teammates and touted by others as one of the most ready-to-fight prospects in the country.
“I train as much as I can,” Johnson said. “It’s about making a statement. The way you win shows people what you’re capable of, and I’m ready to show my best.
David Benavidez’s father, Jose Benavidez Sr., says he wants undisputed lightweight heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev if he can defeat “regular” WBA champion David Morrell in a Jan. 25 fight.
Jose Senior believes Beterbiew would be a good fight for Benavidez (29-0, 24 KO). He would also like his son to have Dmitry Bivol because it would give him a chance to beat someone who beat Canelo Alvarez in 2022.
Jose Sr. is still bitter that Canelo chose not to fight Benavidez all these years, and recently mentioned a $200 million asking price to fight him. If Bivol loses the rematch with Beterbiev, it is not worth fighting him.
Artur Beterbiev (21-0, 20 KO) will be the guy Benavidez fights if he defeats Bivol in a rematch in 2025. The second fight is still not confirmed, but it is likely.
Benavidez’s worst nightmare would be if Beterbiev lost his rematch with Bivol and then the two fighters met in a trilogy fight. Benavidez will have to wait until the third fight between these fighters takes place before he can claim the belts.
“David’s next fight will be David Morrell. Everyone is very excited about it. We tried to make this fight for three years, but I think David Morrell needed a little more experience to show the world that he deserves this fight,” said Jose Benavidez Sr. Probox TV David Benavidez’s next fight with Cuban David Morrell will take place on January 25.
Of course, Team Benavidez hasn’t tried challenging to fight Morrell over the last three years because they’ve been the ones ignoring him. If they wanted a fight with Morrell, it would have happened a long time ago.
They waited until now, after Morrell’s unimpressive performance against Radivoje Kalajdzic on August 3 at BMO Stadium in Los Angeles, before deciding they wanted to fight him.
“David called him and said, ‘Hey, I want to do this fight. Let’s make it happen. It was done right away. I’m very excited to fight a newborn talent, a sturdy fighter, and I think it’s going to be a tough fight,” said Jose Senior on how the fight with Morrell ultimately came about.
I hope we get a chance to fight Beterbiev. He won only on Saturday. Hopefully we can achieve that, but right now our focus is on David Morrell. We have to look impressive to get to the next level,” Benavidez Sr. said.
If Benavidez loses to Morrell, Jose Sr. will have to decide which direction to take his son. Will he move it back to 168 pounds or stay at 175, hoping to win one of the belts after Beterbiev’s vacation?
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