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Andreas Hale
Jaron “Boots” Ennis needed only two minutes to erase Uisma Lima with a pair of knockdowns to earn the first-round stoppage in his 154-pound debut at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in his hometown of Philadelphia.
It was a mismatch on paper that played out even worse in practice as Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) quickly went to work against an overmatched opponent who had no answers for the gifted switch-hitting former welterweight champion, who is now the interim WBA junior middleweight champion.
“I did what I had to do,” Ennis said. “I’m here at 154 pounds and made a statement so bring me those names.”
Early on, Ennis and Lima exchanged left hooks but “Boots” stepped forward, whipped a left hook into the side of his opponent’s head and followed with a combination to score the first knockdown of the fight. Lima (14-2, 10 KOs) made it to his feet but was clearly shaken. Ennis refused to let his opponent off the hook and slammed another series of punches into the head and body of Lima to put him down again. Although Lima would again make it to his feet, he had nothing to offer and was shredded by another combination that caused the referee to mercifully halt the fight at 1:58.
“I sent a big message,” Ennis said. “You know what time it is, and you know who I want.”
The win sets the stage for a highly anticipated showdown between Ennis and undefeated interim WBC champion Vergil Ortiz, who faces Erickson Lubin on Nov. 8. The two were linked for a fight this year but it didn’t materialize. Ennis received criticism for fighting Lima, who hadn’t faced any quality opposition in his career. But now that the fight with Lima is done, Ennis believes there will be nothing standing in the way of an Ortiz fight in 2026.
“It’s going to happen next,” said Ennis, who threw down the gauntlet against the best 154-pounders in the division. “I know [Ortiz] is focused on his fight. I want Vergil Ortiz next but if he doesn’t want it, I’d fight [Jermell] Charlo, [Sebastian] Fundora or Xander [Zayas]. Anybody can get it. This division is mine.”