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Is Jaron 'Boots' Ennis on Conor Benn’s radar at 147 if he can come through against Chris Eubank Jr?
It may well have been three long years since Conor Benn last fought at the welterweight limit – and if recent training footage is anything to go by, he looks to have developed into quite the fighting specimen at middleweight - but it seems that ‘The Destroyer’ still sees his future at 147lbs once his business with Chris Eubank Jr is concluded.
All eyes will be on the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium on April 26 when Benn and Eubank Jr throw down in a seismic non-title fight set at a middleweight limit of 160 pounds in an event streamed live on DAZN PPV.
However, all the noises from Team Benn suggest his long-term future is still at 147.
Benn last made welterweight in April 2022 when he blasted out Chris van Heerden inside two rounds in Manchester. Much water has passed under the bridge since then, but a shot at WBC titleholder Mario Barrios looks like his next step if things go well against Eubank Jr.
"I will knock Eubank out, and then I'll win the WBC title," Benn defiantly told the Matchroom YouTube channel recently.
And should he be true to his word, then a possible unification battle with Jaron 'Boots' Ennis in the next 12-18 months would be a distinct possibility.
Given his prodigious talent, Ennis underwhelmed in a rematch with Karen Chukhadzhian back in November. However, he put the 147 division on notice in blasting out Eimantas Stanionis inside six rounds in Atlantic City.
Barrios is the WBC champion and Brian Norman Jr is the WBO titleholder, yet there can be no doubt that Ennis – now the IBF and WBA ruler – is the man to beat at 147lbs.
Welterweight has been crying out for a new star since Terence Crawford dismantled Errol Spence Jr nearly two years ago, and in Ennis the division looks to have finally found one.
Ennis and Benn are both promoted by Eddie Hearn and Matchroom, so any fight between the pair would in theory be easy to make should the Philadelphia slickster not go on to unify with Barrios or Norman Jr or try his luck with a jump to 154.
If we are being realistic, Ennis would start as a healthy betting favourite against Benn, regardless of what the Londoner produces in the Eubank Jr fight later this month.
Buoyed by the removal of an IBF rehydration clause, the undefeated 27-year-old from Philadelphia produced a statement victory against Stanionis. He looked huge for the weight and his shots looked hurtful and accurate for as long as the fight lasted. On such evidence, Ennis could be the man now to reshape the welterweight division and Benn will no doubt find himself right in that mix if he can get the ‘W’ against Eubank Jr.
However, those in the Benn business would not be without hope against Ennis based on how the American fights. Ennis is not Superman and has notably been caught flush in his last few fights. That’s not because ‘Boots’ has no defence, more that he is a boxer that hunts for KOs and a consequence of that is he is a fighter who leaves himself open to big shots from time to time. He has shown an excellent chin so far, but Benn would surely love to test it.
Hearn’s goal will unquestionably be for ‘Boots’ to dominate the US markets in the same way Anthony Joshua once did in the UK. It would therefore be a huge bonus for Matchroom and for Hearn if that involved Ennis and Benn locking horns as unbeaten champions down the line.
How to watch Chris Eubank Jr vs Conor Benn
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