Jaron Ennis is the most avoided fighter in boxing.
At this point, there’s little doubt about the talent he possesses. At 29-0, the 25-year-old welterweight has not only knocked out 27 of his opponents, he’s barely even lost a round in his emerging career.
Ennis, also known as “Boots,” is seemingly the best current boxer without a world title, or even the opportunity to secure one. He’s proven to be too much for the rest of the division, and is clearly ready for the top dogs.
As Errol Spence Jr., who holds the welterweight WBA, WBC and IBF belts and Terrence Crawford, who owns the WBO belt, negotiated a heavily-anticipated undisputed title fight, Ennis was seemingly next in line to challenge the winner.
Spence and Crawford’s talks notably broke down, forcing Ennis to continue to wait. Crawford instead fought and defeated David Avanesyan, a fringe contender, while Spence is reported to next be fighting Keith Thurman.
None of that helps Ennis, who wants them to fight each other, fight him, or move out of the way. Before they fight each other, however, neither Spence nor Crawford seem eager to accept a challenge from Ennis.
“They’re definitely holding the division up,” Ennis told The Post. “Like I said, I was supposed to fight in October of this year, and then November and then December, but everyone was waiting. Because they were holding it up and we were trying to see what they were gonna do. It was definitely holding it up a little bit. Hopefully they do fight, but if not, they’ve got to fight one of the young killers. That’s me or Vergil Ortiz. Or whoever else is down there. Nobody wants to see them fight Keith Thurman or Avanesyan, nobody wants to see that. Everybody wants to see them fight each other, or see them fight us.”
Instead, Ennis squares off with Karen Chukhadzhian (21-1) in a 12-round welterweight bout on the undercard of the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia card (9 p.m., Showtime PPV) Saturday night at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C. The card is also available on PPV.com.
There’s not much else Ennis can demonstrate in the ring to prove his readiness for the elite welterweights, but he still can bring himself closer to those opportunities he desires. If he already has proven his ability, now he can prove his stardom.
“Putting on a beautiful knockout, getting my fans up, my fansbase and support system up, from people that are famous, celebrities, after this fight, everything should go up and I should be a bigger household name than what I am now,” Ennis said. “Everyone will know who I am, especially fighting on PPV, fighting on a big card like this with [Davis], he’s already a household name. After I do my thing Jan. 7 and get a beautiful knockout, I feel like I should be headlining a PPV main event or just even my own card at home, or anything like that. From here on out, I feel like I should be headlining.”
That celebrity is perhaps the final step in Ennis’ evolution. Soft-spoken outside the ring, Ennis largely stays away from much of the trash talk and over-the-top self promotion so many of his counterparts engage in.
The Philadelphia native has long believed his feats in the ring will bring him to where he wants to go, but he’s been met with gridlock and avoidance. He’s viewed as a high risk, low reward opponent, one who presents a significant threat but not yet the following or reach to make a matchup lucrative.
If he has to, though, Ennis is willing to change his tenor and demand attention. Although Chukhadzhian might not be the opponent he wanted, Ennis has his biggest stage yet to deliver that message.
“If it were up to me, yeah, I feel like just me being myself and just doing all my talking in the ring, who wouldn’t want someone that’s doing his thing in the ring and not talking too much outside the ring? I feel like yeah, it would be on point for me to do that, be myself, be normal, and not overdo anything or be someone I’m not,” Ennis said. “The fans will gravitate towards me like they already do now.
“Maybe talking a little bit more outside the ring, but I feel like I shouldn’t have to do that. Why would I have to talk outside the ring when my skills speak for themselves? But if I’ve got to do that, if I’ve got to talk a little bit to get them in the ring, then that’s what we’re going to do.”
