Jaron “Boots” Ennis had established himself as one of the premier fighters in boxing. The Philadelphia native and current IBF World Welterweight champion boasts an impressive boxing record of 33 wins, 29 knockouts, and 0 losses.
For his next fight, Ennis will take on Eimantas Stanionis, the current World Boxing Association (WBA) welterweight champion, in a bout to unify the two welterweight titles on Saturday (April 12) night in Atlantic City, New Jersey (DAZN, 8 p.m. ET). If victorious, Ennis will be a step closer to making history by becoming a four-division undisputed champion before he retires from the sport.
Just ahead of his highly anticipated match with Stanionis, Ennis shared about when he first fell in love with boxing.
“It was during my first sparring when I was little. It was just so much fun for me. Having my first sparring session as a little kid and watching my brothers come up as fighters I wanted to be like them,” Ennis told HOT97.com.
Being born and raised in the “The City of Brotherly Love” and “Sisterly Affection”, Ennis shared how honored he is to be a part of the storied boxing tradition of Philadelphia and how he began taking boxing seriously as a teenager.
“Growing up in Philly, I had a lot of great fighters around me. My dad was a former boxer and he trained me so I always was able to see professional fighters and top-notch guys coming in and out of the gym and sparring,” Ennis recalled. “Then going to the fights and being around those guys made me want to be a professional fighter. I was trying to become a pro since I was 16. I didn’t really like the amateurs too much. It wasn’t my thing.
I just was around so many pros at the time that I adopted the pro-fighting style. With my brothers, my dad who was training Demetrius Hopkins, and Anthony Thompson, I was always around professional fighters. When I got in the ring as an amateur, I was always sparring with pros so when it was time for me to fight in the amateur ranks, I would never throw a lot of punches. I was trying to take my time but I was always hurting somebody or knocking somebody out,” he continued. “But I never threw a lot of punches like how you’re taught in amateurs, and that wasn’t my thing because I was trained on the pro side.”
Since his debut, Ennis has ascended the boxing ranks as one of the top pound-for-pound fighters in the sport. With his set on Stanionis, an accomplished fighter in his own right, Ennis is looking forward to showing the world that he can handle the Lithuanian champion.
Stanionis is a good fighter, he doesn’t have anything that I’ve never seen before. He tries to put pressure on his opponents, throws a lot of punches, and has a good jab,” he said. “That’s about it. He doesn’t have too much head movement or things like that. But he’s a good fighter.
Along with saying undefeated, Ennis wants to become a four-division undisputed champion which would place his name among the sport’s all-time greats. Undoubtedly, “Boots” is confident that a victory over Stanionis will set him on a path to make history.
“Unifying the belts in this division, and becoming the unified lineal champion, a lot of fighters can’t say that they did that. At this division, I think Floyd and I think Bub (Terence Crawford) was the last guy to do it. I think Sugar Ray Leonard was on the list,” Ennis said.
“There are not too many people that can say that they were the lineal champion at 147 and I’m looking forward to being able to put my name with the all-time great on April 12,” he continued. “That will be a blessing for me so that’s my main goal. That’s all I’m focused on right now. I’m locked in on getting these belts, and I’m not worrying about nobody else. All I see is those belts being around my waist on April 12.”
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