Philadelphia’s Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis looks to unify the IBF and WBA titles at welterweight on Saturday night in Atlantic City.Photograph: Mark Robinson/Getty Images
Bozy’s Dungeon never had a fixed address. For years it was tucked two blocks from the clattering El train in North Philadelphia, past strips of weathered rowhouses and corner stores. These days it sits in a quiet residential stretch of the Great Northeast. The location and sign on the door might change, but inside, it’s always the same: a temple of toughness and repetition, where talk is cheap and fighters are made brick by brick, round after round. The ring is sacred, the rules unwritten but understood: work, wait, and one day, your shot will come. For Jaron Ennis, the amply gifted welterweight from Philly known as Boots, that day arrives Saturday night.
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Ennis, the International Boxing Federation’s welterweight champion, unbeaten over 33 professional fights with 29 wins inside the distance, will put it all on the line under the vaulted ceilings of Atlantic City’s Boardwalk Hall against Eimantas Stanionis, a rugged, come-forward brawler from Lithuania who holds the World Boxing Association’s version of the 147lb title. For Ennis, it’s more than a unification bout. It’s a prime opportunity to shed the perception that, despite his immaculate record and world champion status, he remains a fighter on the cusp rather than one firmly established at the top.
“The future of boxing,” as Eddie Hearn likes to call him. Ennis’ silver-tongued promoter is not alone. Indeed, when a recent Ring Magazine feature predicted boxing’s pound-for-pound hierarchy in five years’ time, Boots was an uncontroversial pick for No 1. That long-held promise, however, demands a present-tense breakthrough.
Since turning pro in 2016, Ennis has delivered a series of highlight-reel victories, racking up knockouts and breathless hype among the sport’s chattering class. The 27-year-old blends elite athleticism, switch-hitting creativity and knockout power with a high ring IQ and rare adaptability, making him one of boxing’s most complete operators. He is long, lean and hard to touch: 5ft 10in with a 74in reach that creates problems before the first punch is thrown. But recent performances – particularly a decision win over Karen Chukhadzhian in a November rematch that lacked urgency – have been met with muted praise. The hesitation from fans and critics alike isn’t about his talent, which is beyond dispute. It’s about whether he’s fully tapped into it.
Ennis has heard the doubts. “If I pitch a shutout, ‘oh, you should’ve knocked him out.’ If I knock someone out, ‘oh, we don’t know if he has a gas tank,’” he said this week. “I’m at the point now where I don’t care what people say. I do what’s best for me.”
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That mandatory rematch, he admits, forced a shift in approach. “We were forced into fighting him to keep the IBF belt,” Ennis said. “I’m glad I had that fight. It made me a lot smarter in this camp.”
His father and trainer, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis Sr, saw it too. “I think he got into the habit of knocking everyone out. I want to get away from that. Maybe he’s forgotten what got him there: his jab, boxing and moving.”
Those fundamentals are what the Dungeon is built on. Currently located inside Philly’s Next Champ facility in the city’s Bustleton section, the gym prizes foundation over flash and with good reason. Jaron is the third Ennis son to step into the ring – and the one burdened with finishing a mission that began decades ago. Before him came Derek ‘Pooh’ Ennis, a slick, smart junior middleweight who won the regional USBA title and beat future contenders like Gabriel Rosado. And Farah Ennis, a bigger, stronger super middleweight who started 17-0, claimed the stepping-stone NABF belt with a stoppage of Victor Lares in 2010 and looked poised to break through. But both brothers fell just short of the sport’s highest tiers.
Now that inflection point has arrived for Boots, who enters the biggest fight of his career on Saturday night as the consensus No 1 welterweight in the world. With longtime champions Terence Crawford and Errol Spence having abandoned the division since their four-belt unification blockbuster in 2023, the throne is vacant even if the belts are occupied. Stanionis, ranked No 2, stands in his way – and the 30-year-old may be the kind of opponent who finally brings out the best in Boots.
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“This is the moment the family has been waiting for,” said Pooh Ennis at Thursday’s final press conference at the Caesars Atlantic City casino hotel. “This is the fight that puts [Boots] in a different class.”
Stanionis (15-0, 9 KOs) is a former Olympian who fights with volume, grit and an unrelenting motor. After sitting out 2023 due to repeated postponements of a bout with Vergil Ortiz Jr, he returned last April with a competitive but clear points win over Gabriel Maestre. His résumé isn’t long, but it’s sturdy. He carries himself like a man who’s been waiting years for this shot.
He’s also entering the ring with more than a title on the line. “My baby might come today or tomorrow,” he said Thursday, noting that his wife is due any moment. “I left everything behind because I believe in myself. This was my most brutal camp. I sacrificed everything because I believe I can win. I’m all gas, no brakes.”
“Then you’re gonna run into a rock,” Ennis replied with a wry grin.
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Their clash promises action. Stanionis comes forward and consistently presses the issue. Ennis thrives on angles, reflexes and sharp counters. If Boots is locked in, Stanionis’ aggression may backfire. If not, the Lithuanian has enough grit to test the limits of Ennis’ poise and defense.
Bozy Ennis, the increasingly in-demand trainer who has coached Jaron since childhood and molded dozens of top fighters in Philadelphia, sees this as a pivotal fork in the road. “Stanionis is one of the best in the division,” he said Thursday. “It’s a good fight and it’s a tough fight.”
The fight marks Ennis’s third under the Matchroom banner, a partnership he embraced after Showtime Sports folded in late 2023 and promotional uncertainty left his career in limbo. Now beneath the bright lights of the Atlantic City boardwalk, he sees the opportunity to not just win but make a statement. “I’m ready to show out and put on a show and show the world why I’m the best,” Boots said. “Come Saturday night I’m going to take home all these belts.”
Critics of Ennis have argued he hasn’t yet faced an opponent who can truly push him, putting his prodigious talents to a proper road test. That changes on Saturday. And with the historic Boardwalk Hall as the backdrop – a 96-year-old venue that has hosted the likes of Mike Tyson, Evander Holyfield, Lennox Lewis, Bernard Hopkins and Arturo Gatti – the timing feels right for a breakout performance. “One of my favorite fights was Floyd v Gatti, and that was in this arena,” Ennis said. “Now it’s my turn.”
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But this moment isn’t just about Boots. It’s the culmination of a family’s decades-long pursuit. Bozy’s own pro career ended with a modest record of four wins and two losses as a middleweight, but his reputation as a trainer, and physical marvel belying his 69 years, has grown with Boots’ rise. His sons have filled Philly gyms and local fight cards for more than 15 years. But world title glory – the kind that sticks – has eluded them. Until now. “The connection between father and son is different,” said Bozy. “We believe in what we’re building. And we’re not in a rush. We stay ready.”
After Saturday, there may be no more waiting. A win puts Ennis at 34-0. It sets up unification bouts with WBC champion Mario Barrios or WBO titleholder Brian Norman Jr. And it places Boots firmly in the conversation among the sport’s elite. He’s made no secret of his long-term goals – he wants every title at 147lb before moving up to 154 – but insists he’s tuned out all talk of future opponents to focus on the task at hand. “I’m here to collect all the belts, and I’m locked in on Stanionis,” Ennis said. “Win on Saturday and I’m the WBA, IBF and Ring Magazine champion, and then we’ll see what’s next. But I am zoned in on Stanionis, no doubt, and I’m ready to give everybody what they are asking for.”
So zoned in, in fact, that he spent most of Thursday’s presser quietly playing Sudoku on his phone. But boxing, more than most sports, doesn’t reward potential. It rewards performance under fire. Stanionis will apply the pressure. Whether Ennis can cope will say everything about the ceiling he’s long been told he has – and the floors his family built for him to stand on. “I’m not looking for the knockout,” Ennis said. “But it’s going to come.”
Bozy believes the same and more. “Boots hasn’t even hit another level yet,” he said. “Maybe Stanionis brings it out. That’s what I’m waiting for. Because then the world’s going to see something.”
And if that something is a coronation, it won’t just belong to Jaron. It will belong to Germantown. To the Dungeon. To Pooh and Farah. To the Ennis family, who dreamed it first. On Saturday night in Atlantic City, Boots fights for all of them.
