Boxing

'Boots' Ennis reflects on sparring with pound-for-pound great ahead of tonight's exciting new chapter

DAZN

11, Oct

'Boots' Ennis reflects on sparring with pound-for-pound great ahead of tonight's exciting new chapter

Ennis vs. Lima - only on DAZN - tonight

Former unified welterweight champion Jaron 'Boots' Ennis is training with the best boxing has to offer ahead of an exciting new chapter in his career.

After unifying the IBF and WBA welterweight titles against Eimantas Stanionis in April, Ennis' time at 147lbs has come to an end with the Philadelphia man finally moving up to super welterweight.

Ennis will be making his debut at 154lbs tonight , exclusively live on DAZN , and ahead of headling another fight card at Philadelphia's Xfinity Mobile Arena, 'Boots' sparred with then-undisputed super middleweight champion Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez before he faced Terence Crawford in Las Vegas.

Speaking to Inside The Ring , Ennis lifted the lid on his experience and explained why he wanted to step into the ring with the legendary Mexican.

"It was a great thing. As everybody knows, I’m moving up to 154 so why not put my skills against some at 168lbs and see how I do," Ennis said.

"I went out there for my first two weeks of camp, got in great shape for my fight on Saturday. It was a great time, I enjoyed myself."

Ennis is touted for a big 2026, but his opponent on Saturday, Angola's Uisma Lima, will be looking to derail these plans.

Read next | How Ennis-Lima can spark the super welterweight division into life

With a 14-1 (10 KOs) record, Lima is solid operator and is not afraid to travel on the road when it comes to showcasing his skills within the sweet science.

This trait was something commended by Ennis who explained why he chose to face Lima in the next stage of his boxing story.

"A top 10 guy, he’s very confident, he’s a road warrior.

"I’m glad to have a confident guy in front of me and I want to show the world the new ‘Boots’ at 154."

Backed by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom Boxing, Ennis has the potential to become one of the faces in American boxing, and a win over Lima will set up some major matchups.

One that is frequently being called for is a clash with Vergil Ortiz Jr who after previously campaigning at welterweight is hard-hitting force at super welterweight.

A Ennis-Ortiz Jr fight has the potential to be a fight of the year contender with rumours of a deal already signed for the bout to take place in the first half of 2026.