Bill Haney Tells Ennis To Clear Out 154 First

Bill Haney wants Jaron Ennis to sweep the junior middleweight division before stepping in the ring with his son.

The father-manager of WBO welterweight champion Devin Haney told Champside that Ennis should go after Vergil Ortiz, Sebastian Fundora, and Josh Kelly at 154 pounds while Devin solidifies his position at 147. Ennis captured the WBA and WBO straps at 154 by stopping Xander Zayas in seven rounds last month.

Ennis Faces Queue Of 154-Pound Challengers

"Go ahead and tighten up Vergil, Fundora, do some heavy lifting at 154 and then we'll meet you," Haney said, per The Ring. Fundora, who stands 6-foot-5 and holds the WBC belt, confirmed he wants a three-belt unification with Ennis after his mandatory defense against Ermal Hadribeaj on October 17 in Carson, California.

Ortiz, the WBC interim champion ranked second behind Ennis at junior middleweight, was set to face Boots earlier this year before legal troubles with promoter Oscar De La Hoya scrapped the fight. The two have since patched things up and remain on track for a clash. IBF titleholder Kelly, fresh off his defense against Caoimhin Agyarko, is targeting Ennis by year's end.

Meanwhile, Devin Haney is negotiating a fight with WBA secondary champion Jack Catterall after failing to land bouts with Rolando Romero and Keyshawn Davis. The elder Haney said a rematch with Ryan Garcia remains the priority — and would only raise the stakes for an eventual Ennis showdown. "When he beats Ryan Garcia, that makes the Boots Ennis fight bigger," he told Champside.

Source: ringmagazine.com