Jaron Ennis believes there are now bigger fish to fry than the man who many would argue is his most dangerous rival at 154lbs.
The 29-year-old became a two-division unified champion in June, dethroning Xander Zayas with a seventh-round finish to claim the WBO and WBA world titles.
As a result, ‘Boots’ has now set his sights on becoming the undisputed super-welterweight king, rather than focusing on a long-awaited showdown with Vergil Ortiz.
But while collecting all four major belts would, indeed, be a phenomenal achievement, it must be said that Ortiz represents his most commercially viable option.
Even after having not fought since his second-round stoppage of Erickson Lubin in November, the 28-year-old is still repeatedly mentioned in the same breath as Ennis.
More importantly, though, Ortiz is now free to revisit the negotiating table after reaching a promotional settlement with Oscar De La Hoya and Golden Boy.
Yet despite the enormous appetite for an Ortiz clash, Ennis would much rather face Sebastian Fundora, who is set to defend his WBC title against mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj later this year.
Speaking with YSM Sports Media, the American even claimed that fans would rather see him collide with the 6ft 6in ‘Towering Inferno’ than Ortiz.
“It’s still on the table but, right now, we’re collecting belts. I feel like the two guys with the belts [would make for] bigger fights right now. I feel like Fundora is a bigger fight [than Ortiz].
“Everybody wants to see that fight. Vergil Ortiz is a good fight but no one really wants to see it, because I’m going to knock him out.
“I’d rather fight the tall guy [Fundora] that y’all think is this monster, get him out of there, and then I’ll run through the whole division.”
While preferring Fundora, Ennis could instead enter a three-belt unification match against Josh Kelly, who retained his IBF title with a hard-fought victory over Caoimhin Agyarko last Saturday.
