PHILADELPHIA favourite Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis began life at 154 pounds in impressive fashion, blasting away Uisma Lima in just one round. Hurting the once-beaten Angolan early, Ennis refused to let him off the hook, chewing Lima up and spitting him out at 1-58 of the opening session.
Headlining in the Xfinity Mobile Arena, Ennis was determined to leave his hometown crowd happy with a display of strength in the super-welterweight class. Tougher tests await down the road, but this was a dream division debut, done and dusted in less than two minutes.
A blitzing right uppercut started the destruction. Lima was hurt and unable to recover. Having shown himself to be sturdy in the past, his squared-up stance and technical limitations came home to roost as Ennis displayed levels, using the Portuguese puncher as target practice.
Since losing to Aaron McKenna in the summer of 2023, Lima, 14-2 (10 KOs), recorded four straight wins, all on the road. It was solid form. None of them were at the level of Ennis, 35-0 (31 KOs) and it showed. ‘Boots’ now looks ahead to a long-proposed clash with new division rival Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Ortiz Jr defends his WBC Interim title against Erickson Lubin on November 8. Should he overcome Lubin, a bout with Ennis in 2026 would be welcomed. Eddie Hearn has long posited that an agreement is in place for Ortiz-Ennis, while Ortiz’s promoter, Oscar De La Hoya, has been coy over the suggestion. It’s a fight boxing needs.
“Now we’re seeing the real ‘Boots’, closer to 100 per cent,” Hearn said following the Lima lashing. Making 147 was a grind. At 28, Ennis is now at a weight that suits his filled-out frame.
The punches flowed smoothly as Lima was dropped three times in total, caught in the headlights. A final blow momentarily froze his body, prompting the corner to throw in the towel, and referee Shawn Clark to intervene. The timing of the stoppage was perfect. Lima was given every chance to survive and continue.
If a bout between Ennis and Ortiz cannot be cemented, other options include the WBO champion Xander Zayas, WBC king Sebastian Fundora, who pulled out of a fight with Keith Thurman this week, or IBF main man Bakhram Murtazaliev.
