Jaron Ennis appears to be growing increasingly frustrated by the lack of progress in finalising his next fight.
The former unified welterweight champion made an eye-catching debut at super-welterweight in his home city of Philadelphia two months ago, blowing out Uisma Lima in the first round. The performance only strengthened promoter Eddie Hearn’s confidence in what Ennis, 35-0 (31 KOs), can go on to achieve.
Last month, Hearn and ‘Boots’ travelled to Dickies Arena in Fort Worth, Texas, to watch Golden Boy Promotions’ Vergil Ortiz Jr, 24-0 (22 KOs), dismantle Erickson Lubin with a relentless second-round knockout.
After the fight, Ortiz invited ‘Boots’ into the ring, where the pair exchanged words. Hearn and Ennis have since revealed that their side of the deal for Ennis-Ortiz has been signed, but they are still waiting for Ortiz and his promoter Oscar De La Hoya to agree to the 154lbs super-fight.
The two fighters have taken to social media to trade verbal shots. Ortiz claims his manager Rick Mirigan has not received an offer, while Ennis has accused Ortiz of being unable to make his own decisions.
Eventually, Ennis tired of the back-and-forth and tagged Hearn and De La Hoya with a final message.
“I’m not about to keep going back and forth. Are we fighting next or not?”
Despite neither man holding a world title at 154lbs, a showdown between ‘Boots’ and Ortiz remains the biggest fight in the division right now.
Next month, two of the champions will aim to stake their claim as the number one super-welterweight when WBO title-holder Xander Zayas meets WBA champion Abass Baraou in a unification bout on January 31 in Puerto Rico.
