Jaron “Boots” Ennis wanted a fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr. after moving up to junior middleweight, but when that matchup failed to materialize, he turned his attention to unified champion Xander Zayas.
“I told Eddie, I said, if we can’t get Ortiz and we can’t lock that in, I’m like, ‘Yo, go get me Xander, please,’” Ennis said Daily Mail Boxing. “Eddie did his thing and got me what I wanted.”
Asked whether Zayas presents a tougher challenge than Ortiz, Ennis gave a surprising assessment.
“I think he’s a solid fighter,” Ennis said. “I say it’s just a bigger fight because he got two belts. He got the WBO and the WBA. Vergil had a name. So, I would say this fight is a little bit bigger because he got the two belts. He got, I think he do have, you know, a little bit more tools to his game than Ortiz.”
Ennis and Zayas will meet on June 27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn with the WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles at stake. The Philadelphia native is seeking to become a unified champion in a second weight class after previously collecting belts at welterweight.
Despite crediting Zayas with having a more complete skill set than Ortiz, Ennis expects to leave New York with the titles.
“I’m just going be too much for him. I’m overwhelming. I’m be too fast, too strong. And I think I’m really going to shock you,” Ennis said. “June 27th, them belts come home.”
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Last Updated on 2026/06/23 at 4:00 AM
