Madrimov: A Logical First Test At 154 For Boots Ennis

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis could be headed to 154 following his promoter Eddie Hearn’s second consecutive failure to put him in position for a fight at 147. It seems obvious that Hearn wants Boots to abandon the played out, empty 147-lb division to move toward greener pastures at 154.

Bigger Fights, Bigger Paydays

Hearn hasn’t said whether Boots will move up to 154. It’s a bad sign that the British promoter lost the purse bid to Ennis’ IBF mandatory challenger Karen Chukhadzhian’s promoters today and failed to put together a unification fight the day before with WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr.

Some believe that Hearn wants Boots to vacate his IBF welterweight title and move up to junior middleweight to compete in a larger pool of more lucrative, career-expanding fights.

One obvious first choice that Hearn would potentially be looking at for Boots (32-0, 29 KOs) is Israil Madrimov, the former WBA junior middleweight champion, who came close to defeating Terence Crawford last month on August 3rd at the BMO Stadium in Los Angeles.

Outshining Crawford 

Hearn promotes Madrimov (10-1-1, 7 KOs), so matching Boots against him would be an easy fight. It would also be an excellent way to let fans compare his performance to Crawford’s.

Boots would gain popularity if he did a better job of beating Madrimov because Crawford looked terrible against him. Ennis would need to fight aggressively, let his hands go, and entertain the fans.

Madrimov fought Crawford to a standstill through the first nine rounds, but he took his foot off the accelerator in the championship rounds and was outworked in 10 through 12 by the Nebraska native.

If Boots can beat Madrimov impressively, that would pressure Crawford to fight him because he would need to show the fans that he’s better than him.

Even if Crawford refuses to fight Boots, the popularity he would gain from a win over Madrimov would be immense. Ennis could choose anyone he wants at 154, like Sebastian Fundora, Vergil Ortiz Jr., or Tim Tszyu.

The Canelo Dream Fight

What would be interesting is if His Excellency Turki Alalshikh convinced Canelo Alvarez to fight Boots Ennis. That would make Crawford green with envy, but Ennis would be more deserving of a fight against Canelo based on his doing a better job against Madrimov.

Conversely, Boots could lose to Madrimov, which would blow his career. At least he will he tried, and he would be better off for attempting to push himself rather than staying in the dead 147-lb division, with Hearn failing to set up fights for him due to his lowball offers.