Boxing
Three possible opponents for Jaron Ennis after defeating David Avanesyan
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Jaron Ennis took on a rugged challenger in David Avanesyan and forced a TKO after the fifth round Saturday night.
With the victory, Ennis not only successfully defended his IBF welterweight world title in style but improved to 32-0 with 29 knockouts and 1 no contest.
The win fueled "Boots" to look ahead to what's next with a smile, knowing he has plenty of options.
Pound-for-pound great Terence Crawford might top the Philadelphia fighter's wish list, but there are other bouts to be made for the 27-year-old in the near future as well.
Here, DAZN lists a few opponent options for "Boots" Ennis.
Terence Crawford
In the aftermath of Ennis' destruction of Avanesyan, both "Boots" and his promoter Eddie Hearn mentioned wanting to make a fight with Terence Crawford to which the latter seemingly responded to via social media.
There's no doubt that Crawford-Ennis would be a mouthwatering fight as it'd pit two undefeated sweet scientists with power to their punch and an overflow of boxing skills against each other for all of the sport's glory.
But first, Crawford will look to defeat WBA junior middleweight world champion Israil Madrimov on August 3, live on DAZN.
Also before a Crawford-Ennis mega bout could be made, Hearn did tell DAZN's Chris Mannix on Saturday night "the plan is unifications" for Ennis at 147 pounds first. "Before he moves to 154, which is inevitable at some point, we want to unify the [welterweight] division."
Mario Barrios
Barrios, the WBC welterweight world champion, is one of the titleholders in the division that Hearn mentioned for a possible unification fight with Ennis.
Ever since losing back-to-back bouts to Gervonta Davis and Keith Thurman in June 2021 and February 2022, respectively, Barrios has bounced back admirably by piecing together three straight wins including the unanimous decision over Fabián Maidana in May.
Barrios being Ennis' dance partner later this year could be intriguing with high stakes.
Eimantas Stanionis
Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs with 1 no contest) is the reigning WBA welterweight champion, signifying yet another possible unification bout for Ennis.
Stanionis is coming off a unanimous decision win over Gabriel Maestre in May as well, meaning a fall matchup for he and "Boots" would be timely — not to mention pack fascination of its own.
