Promoter Eddie Hearn has revealed that Jaron “Boots” Ennis is prioritizing IBF 154-pound titleholder Josh Kelly as his next opponent, with eventual plans to face WBC champion Sebastian Fundora afterward.
Back in June, Ennis faced the former undefeated champion Xander Zayas by seventh-round corner stoppage through an onslaught of punches. Through this match, “Boots” picked up both the WBA and WBO belts, unifying titles at a second weight division.
Kelly picked up his IBF belt last January in a majority decision win over Bakhram Murtazaliev. He most recently defended the title with a unanimous decision win over Caoimhin Agyarko on the undercard of Joshua vs. Prenga in July.
In a recent interview, Eddie Hearn touched on Ennis’ future in boxing, explaining that at this point it’s all about legacy and world titles, after revealing his interest in bouts with Kelly and Fundora.
“I think that Boots will probably fight Kelly next for the three belts, then the winner will fight Fundora and we’ve got one undisputed champion.”
“Boots is about legacy and belts. Listen, I like the Vergil Ortiz fight, I don’t want to rule that out either by the way, but previously we didn’t have a belt and that fight was no belts, but we couldn’t get the champions.
“Then, when we couldn’t get the Vergil fight, the Zayas fight kind of slotted into place and that was like magic for us, to get that shot. Now, he has those two belts, the natural thing to do is to try and win all of the belts.
“I think that the Ortiz fight is a wonderful fight and I think that we have to try and get that made, but certainly his focus, right now, is to try and be undisputed.”