Jaron “Boots” Ennis could face Vergil Ortiz in the first quarter of 2026, as long as he secures victory in his super welterweight debut this Saturday, according to promoter Eddie Hearn. Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs), 28 years old, will face Uisma Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) in his first fight at 154 pounds at the Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia, after reaching the top spot in the welterweight rankings. Following a technical knockout victory in the sixth round over Eimantas Stanionis in April, Ennis seeks to deliver a great performance against Lima, from Angola and based in Portugal, in front of his local fans to propel himself towards bigger fights. The winner on Saturday, where the WBA interim title will be at stake, will advance to compete for the WBA super welterweight world title against Abass Barou (17-1, 9 KOs), from Germany. Hearn has big plans for “Boots” and a possible fight against Ortiz (23-0, 21 KOs), who will defend the WBC interim super welterweight title against Erickson Lubin on November 8. Hearn revealed that conversations have already been held to finalize the fight between Ennis and Ortiz in 2026.
Hearn expects Ennis to perform better at super welterweight and states that the Philadelphia boxer is willing to face any of the world champions in 2026. Ortiz, from Texas, and WBC super welterweight world champion Sebastian Fundora (23-1-1, 15 KOs), from California, hold the number 1 and 2 spots respectively in the 154-pound rankings. Hearn believes Ennis could even compete at super middleweight.We want the most important fights after Saturday, and for me the one that makes the most sense and the one that has been negotiated is Vergil Ortiz.
Eddie Hearn
