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Eddie Hearn Gushes Over Jaron Ennis And Makes Bold Claim About 'Special' Fighter

Originally posted on KO on SI | By Apratim Banerjee | Last updated Oct 13, 2025 7:00 PM ET

Boxing fans are campaigning for Jaron Ennis vs Terence Crawford following the former's devastating first-round knockout win against Uisma Lima on October 11. 'Boots' made a statement in his super welterweight debut and is now 35-0-0 with 31 KO wins.

Many expect him to be a pound-for-pound leader in boxing in the coming years. Given Ennis' performances, that can't be argued. Some might be critical of the quality of opponents he has faced; however, the skills are evident.

Eddie Hearn, Ennis' promoter, has previously backed 'Boots' to replace Crawford as the best in the world. Following the Lima fight, the Matchroom Boxing head thinks Ennis is already the best fighter in the world.

Eddie Hearn applauds Jaron 'Boots' Ennis

Speaking to The Stomping Ground, Hearn claimed that Ennis will dismantle top super welterweights like Vergil Ortiz Jr. and others. He said:

“You can try and downplay it, but I don’t give a f**k, Jaron 'Boots' Ennis is the best fighter in boxing today."

Hearn added that there isn't a single fighter in the 154 lbs division that can hang in there with Ennis. He also made a Terence Crawford comparison, saying, "He’s 28 years old. He’s 10 years younger than Terence Crawford. We haven’t even touched the surface yet. This is the most special fighter I’ve ever worked with by a mile, and we are just getting started, and I can’t wait for him to be in these fights."

'Boots' Ennis has a long career ahead of him and he is a special fighter. However, he needs to fight championship-caliber opponents to establish himself as a pound-for-pound leader. Someone like Ortiz Jr would be a fantastic addition to Ennis' resume.

Jaron Ennis believes Vergil Ortiz Jr is next

'Boots' wants the undefeated Ortiz Jr next. The latter, though, has a fight coming up against Erickson Lubin and needs to take care of business first. Ennis is open to taking on the winner of Ortiz Jr vs Lubin. He also considers Jermell Charlo, Sebastian Fundora, Bakhram Murtazaliev, and Xander Zayas as options. 'Boots' said after the Lima win:

“It’s [Ortiz Jr fight] going to happen next. I know he got his fight. And if he don't win, I’ll fight the winner of that. If I don’t get Vergil Ortiz next, I heard that baby Charlo was calling me out; Charlo, he can get it next."

Eimantas Stanionis and Karen Chukhadzhian are arguably Ennis' best career wins. All those aforementioned names would be excellent additions to his resume.

This article first appeared on KO on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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