Jaron Ennis has been waiting eagerly for this sort of step-up fight.
The 23-year-old welterweight contender, who faces former 140-pound titleholder Sergey Lipinets on Saturday, has been beating up on second-tier opponents. He hopes a victory over a more-respected foe will put him on a collision course with the best at 147.
Ennis and Lipinets will fight at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. The card is on Showtime.
“I’ve been trying to get these kind of guys in the ring for two, two and half years, top guys, world champions, Top 10 guys. And it didn’t happen,” Ennis said on a conference call. “Now you’re about to see a different animal, a whole different beast.
“It’s time for me to do my thing. I’m really excited.”
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GLILO-YGTiE
Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs) has been doing his thing since turning pro in 2016, which is to dominate one opponent after another with skills that some have compared to a prime Roy Jones Jr.
The Philadelphian appears to the eye to have it all – speed, athleticism, power, ring intelligence, a fighting spirit, you name it. He just hasn’t had the opportunity to prove it against a high-caliber opponent.
That’s where Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) comes in. The Los Angeles-based Kazakhstani is respected for his solid skill set and attacking style, which allowed him to win a junior welterweight title by outpointing Akihiro Kondo in 2017.
Lipinets’ only loss came by a unanimous decision against probable Hall of Famer Mikey Garcia in 2018, which cost him his belt.
A victory over Lipinets – particularly an impressive one – would demonstrate to fans and his rivals that he’s as good as he has appeared to be. And, as he said, it should lead to bigger and better things.
Ennis was willing to discuss his immediate future but circled back to the task at hand several times during the conference call. Fighters in general don’t look past the man or woman directly in front of them, particularly proven entities like Lipinets.
At the same time, Ennis’ exudes confidence. He’s not cocky; he simply has unwavering belief in himself.
And while he respects Lipinets and what he’s accomplished, he believes his opponent’s style is perfect suited to his. It will be as if Lipinets is walking face first into a chain saw, Ennis predicted.
“It’s picture perfect,” Ennis said. “He’ll be running into shots all night long. It will be a long night for him.”
Ennis also was informed that Lipinets had suggested Ennis might run from him during the fight even though the latter also fights aggressively. Ennis smiled at that notion, as if to say Lipinets is in for a surprise if that’s what he believes.
“They don’t’ know what I’m going to bring,” he said. “I’m an all-around fighter. They don’t know how I’ll fight, I fight several different ways. Why say stuff like that? They don’t know how I’m going to come. They just know they need to be ready.”
In other words: “I know what I’m capable of, I know what I’m going to do.”
Then, if things go well, it’s on to the Terence Crawfords, Errol Spences and Manny Pacquiao’s of the world. At least that’s the plan.
“After I do my thing on Saturday – make a big statement in high fashion – it’s only up from there,” Ennis said. “… It’s on to the bigger, better, elite fighters, the Top 3 guys, maybe a world title shot by the end of the year.
“I believe my ranking will be up. … It will be the start of me becoming a pay-per-view star.”
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