Jaron Ennis has long — perhaps too long — been patiently waiting for what he’s rightfully earned.
There finally seems to be a light at the end of the tunnel.
For both the 26-year-old Ennis and the rest of the welterweight division, it’s about time.
A Philadelphia native, “Boots” Ennis has stormed near the top of the 147-pound division with a 30-0 record to begin his pro career, knocking out 27 of his opponents in the process.
There’s currently a pretty clear hierarchy at welterweight, with WBA, WBC and IBF champion Errol Spence and WBO champion Terrence Crawford a significant cut above the division’s other fighters and the clear gatekeepers.
After months of negotiations and the first attempt falling apart, Spence and Crawford are finally set to face each other on July 29 at the T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
With the undisputed welterweight title on the line, it will be one of the biggest and most consequential bouts of this boxing era.
But it also finally brings Ennis within touching distance of the next, most critical part of his ascension.
“It’s not really that hard [to stay patient],” Ennis told The Post. “As long as you stay in that gym and are preparing yourself each and every time out, for each and every fight you have, that’s the best way to be patient and stay on your way.”
While the Spence-Crawford bout stalled earlier this year, Ennis defeated Karen Chukhadzhian by unanimous decision in January to capture the interim IBF welterweight title.
Ennis next takes on 30-year-old Roiman Villa as the main event on Showtime’s card Saturday night at the Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
As long as Ennis, who is heavily favored, takes care of Villa, he likely will get the first crack at the Spence-Crawford winner for the undisputed title.
“I’m definitely the next guy waiting,” Ennis said. “You’ve got [Vergil] Ortiz, you’ve got [Eimantas] Stanionis, they’re right there, too. The young guys are here. If we can’t fight Crawford or Spence, I’ll take Stanionis, Ortiz, or even the older guys, Keith Thurman and [Yordenis] Ugas. It doesn’t really matter.”
The Spence-Crawford bout will settle contemporary welterweight supremacy, but with both of them at least 33 years old, a new era atop the division looms in the near future.
The 25-year-old Ortiz and 28-year-old Stanionis likely will offer Ennis the greatest competition atop the division in his quest to be the next top dog.
Ortiz and Stanionis were set to square off Saturday night in Texas — the same night Ennis returns to the ring — but their bout was reportedly postponed for a third time.
“What will separate me from the younger guys is my skills and my ability all around,” Ennis said. “I feel like my style is fan-friendly. Everybody always wants to see me fight. I fight both ways — orthodox and southpaw. I’ve got power, I’ve got speed from the inside. I box, I do everything. I’m like a variety pack. Any chip you want, I’ve got it. I feel like everybody wants to see that, so I feel like I’ve got a little advantage over those other guys.”
Ennis’ last bout against Chukhadzhian was perhaps a learning lesson.
It was Ennis’ first time going a full 12 rounds in his career, and was the first time he did not stop his opponent (not counting his 2020 no contest against Chris van Heerden) since 2017 — a streak that spanned 19 fights.
He graded it as an “OK’ performance, admitting “there were a lot of things I could have done a lot better.”
Specifically, Ennis said he believes he should have jabbed more and been more aggressive launching body shots earlier in the bout.
Though it was the first time in years Ennis didn’t cruise, he hardly has been challenged in his pro career.
But Ennis is anxious for that test.
Because when it finally arrives, he knows it only will bring out his best.
“I’ve got so much more to offer,” Ennis said. “We just gotta get somebody to try and bring it out of me. There’s a lot of different things, and a lot of different tools, and different abilities that I have. We’ve just got to get the right guy to bring it out of me.
“It’s definitely exciting because people go crazy over me now, and that’s not even me showing 20 percent of what I got, 30 percent of what I got.”