Tag: Jaron Ennis

You had to feel sorry for Roiman Villa.

Jaron Ennis outboxed his fellow welterweight contender, kept his jab in his face, picked him apart with blows that would stop many fighters, methodically beat him up and finally delivered a brutal knockout in the 10^th round Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Villa, as durable as they come, never stopped trying but he also never stood a realistic chance. Ennis, perhaps the best fighter in the world who has yet to fight for a major title, was just too good.

THE BOOGEYMAN DOES IT AGAIN 😈@JaronEnnis KOs Villa in round 10 to move to 31-0 ⭐#EnnisVilla pic.twitter.com/cIiuRPbUL5

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 9, 2023

“I knew I was going to start breaking him up earlier,” Ennis said. “Pop (trainer Bozy Ennis) kept saying, ‘Just wait, not yet. You’re breaking him down, keeping taking your time. You’re going to get him.’ That’s what I did.

“I went back to having fun, being sharp, and I came out with a victory.”

Ennis, alternately fighting from orthodox and southpaw stances, flicked his jab to the head of Villa 26-2, 24 KOs) almost the entire fight. That alone made it difficult for the Venezuelan slugger to get anything accomplished in the mismatch.

However, Ennis used the jab to set up some of the most lethal power punches in the business. Villa clearly has one of the better chins in boxing but even he could endure only so much punishment before he could no longer continue.

Villa had his moments, particularly when Ennis gave into his brawling instincts. They engaged in a number of entertaining exchanges from close range, and Villa landed his share of eye-catching shots.

That was the exception, however. Ennis never engaged for too long, using his feet to move back out of harm’s way and continue his assault from a safer distance.

“My performance was good but a lot of things I could’ve done better,” Ennis said. “I could’ve listened to my corner a little more. My dad wanted more body shots and more angles. I was standing in front of him a little too much, getting hit with shots I wasn’t supposed to get hit with.

“But at the end of the day, you know.”

At the end of the day, Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) did what he expected to do: Score another knockout.

The pivotal shot was a straight left to the chin of Villa, which hurt him badly. Ennis followed with a right hook that put his wilting prey on the canvas just as referee David Fields was jumping between them, apparently intending to stop the fight.

Fields did so with a glassy-eyed Villas sitting on the bottom rope. The official time of the stopped was 1:27 of the 10^th round.

The fact Villa lasted that long is a testament to his conditioning, determination and ability to take a punch.

“I’m not surprised,” Ennis said of his opponent’s durability. “I knew he was a tough kid. I just had to be smart, take my time, keep touching him. I knew I was going to get him.”

Now if he could only get a big fight.

Ennis’ performance underscored the notion that he’s a threat to anyone, including 147-pound kings Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr., who are scheduled to face one another for the undisputed championship on July 29.

Of course, Ennis would love to fight the winner. However, with the possibility of a Crawford-Spence rematch and the general unpredictability of boxing, Ennis isn’t counting on anything.

He told Boxing Junkie a week before the fight that he can do only one thing:  be ready when the time comes. He sure looked ready on Saturday.

“I’ll take [Eimantas] Stanionis. [Vergil] Ortiz, his opponent, fell out or whatever [on Saturday],” he said. “I’ll take Stanionis in a heartbeat. I want to try to get back into the ring one more time late in the year. Let’s make it happen. Stanionis, Keith Thurman, [Yordenis] Ugas, Bud [Crawford], Spence, all the top guys out there.

“Let’s make these fights happen. Let’s get it poppin.”

You had to feel sorry for Roiman Villa.

Jaron Ennis outboxed his fellow welterweight contender, kept his jab in his face, picked him apart with blows that would stop many fighters, methodically beat him up and finally delivered a brutal knockout in the 10^th round Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

Villa, as durable as they come, never stopped trying but he also never stood a realistic chance. Ennis, perhaps the best fighter in the world who has yet to fight for a major title, was just too good.

THE BOOGEYMAN DOES IT AGAIN 😈@JaronEnnis KOs Villa in round 10 to move to 31-0 ⭐#EnnisVilla pic.twitter.com/cIiuRPbUL5

— SHOWTIME Boxing (@ShowtimeBoxing) July 9, 2023

“I knew I was going to start breaking him up earlier,” Ennis said. “Pop (trainer Bozy Ennis) kept saying, ‘Just wait, not yet. You’re breaking him down, keeping taking your time. You’re going to get him.’ That’s what I did.

“I went back to having fun, being sharp, and I came out with a victory.”

Ennis, alternately fighting from orthodox and southpaw stances, flicked his jab to the head of Villa 26-2, 24 KOs) almost the entire fight. That alone made it difficult for the Venezuelan slugger to get anything accomplished in the mismatch.

However, Ennis used the jab to set up some of the most lethal power punches in the business. Villa clearly has one of the better chins in boxing but even he could endure only so much punishment before he could no longer continue.

Villa had his moments, particularly when Ennis gave into his brawling instincts. They engaged in a number of entertaining exchanges from close range, and Villa landed his share of eye-catching shots.

That was the exception, however. Ennis never engaged for too long, using his feet to move back out of harm’s way and continue his assault from a safer distance.

“My performance was good but a lot of things I could’ve done better,” Ennis said. “I could’ve listened to my corner a little more. My dad wanted more body shots and more angles. I was standing in front of him a little too much, getting hit with shots I wasn’t supposed to get hit with.

“But at the end of the day, you know.”

At the end of the day, Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) did what he expected to do: Score another knockout.

The pivotal shot was a straight left to the chin of Villa, which hurt him badly. Ennis followed with a right hook that put his wilting prey on the canvas just as referee David Fields was jumping between them, apparently intending to stop the fight.

Fields did so with a glassy-eyed Villas sitting on the bottom rope. The official time of the stopped was 1:27 of the 10^th round.

The fact Villa lasted that long is a testament to his conditioning, determination and ability to take a punch.

“I’m not surprised,” Ennis said of his opponent’s durability. “I knew he was a tough kid. I just had to be smart, take my time, keep touching him. I knew I was going to get him.”

Now if he could only get a big fight.

Ennis’ performance underscored the notion that he’s a threat to anyone, including 147-pound kings Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr., who are scheduled to face one another for the undisputed championship on July 29.

Of course, Ennis would love to fight the winner. However, with the possibility of a Crawford-Spence rematch and the general unpredictability of boxing, Ennis isn’t counting on anything.

He told Boxing Junkie a week before the fight that he can do only one thing:  be ready when the time comes. He sure looked ready on Saturday.

“I’ll take [Eimantas] Stanionis. [Vergil] Ortiz, his opponent, fell out or whatever [on Saturday],” he said. “I’ll take Stanionis in a heartbeat. I want to try to get back into the ring one more time late in the year. Let’s make it happen. Stanionis, Keith Thurman, [Yordenis] Ugas, Bud [Crawford], Spence, all the top guys out there.

“Let’s make these fights happen. Let’s get it poppin.”

Jaron Ennis is doing what many of the top contenders are doing: He’s waiting.

The 147-pound knockout artist is beating every second-tier opponent placed in front of him and waiting for his big opportunity, a showdown with one of the titleholders (the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. winner?) or another top welterweight.

If playing that game bothers him, he doesn’t show it.

“It’s not really difficult,” he told Boxing Junkie. “… I have to patient, stay focused, get better every single day. When the time comes, I’ll be more than ready.”

Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs) is scheduled to face one of those second-tier opponents, Roiman Villa, on Saturday at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey (Showtime). And, of course, he must win to even think about taking part in a major event.

That might not be easy. Villa (26-1, 24 KOs) is a solid boxer with elite punching power, although he earned the meeting with Ennis by outpointing his toughest opponents in his last two fights, previously unbeaten contenders Janelson Bocachica and Rashidi Ellis.

Ennis compared Villa to a previous opponent of his, Sergey Lipinets, a clever, rugged boxer. Ennis stopped Lipinets in six rounds.

One more thing about Villa: Ennis won’t have to chase him down when the opening bell rings, as he did against the capable, but reluctant Karen Chukhadzhian. The Ukrainian survived but lost every round, which snapped Ennis’ knockout streak at 19 (not counting a no-contest).

Ennis would like to start a new streak on Saturday.

“He’ll be right there in front of me,” Ennis said of Villa. “He’s not going to be moving, he’s not going to run. That’s perfect for me. He’s like Lipinets a little bit, although I feel Lipinets is a lot craftier. …

“[A knockout) is the goal. I want to look good, be sharp, beat him up, get that stoppage.”

Then the 26-year-old would go back to waiting.

Of course, a meeting with the winner of the July 29 Crawford-Spence fight for the undisputed championship would be boxing’s equivalent of winning the lottery but there’s no telling what might follow that bout.

A lucrative rematch would make sense if the original is competitive, as it’s expected to be. Or the winner could move up to 154 pounds, which would create vacancies and all kinds of possibilities.

Ennis can only watch with the rest of us to see how it all plays out, assuming things go well for him in Atlantic City.

“I don’t know when I’ll get that shot,” he said. “Hopefully when they do fight each other, Crawford and Spence, hopefully there’ll be no rematch clause. [But] I probably won’t get a title shot until next year.

“May main focus is Villa right now. I’m locked in on him.”

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