Jaron “Boots” Ennis is a rising star in boxing and on October 11th, he took a huge step in putting himself on the radar for big time fights. Boots took on Uisma Lima for the interim WBA Super Welterweight title.

Ennis ran through Lima and knocked him down twice in the first round before the referee stepped in to stop the fight. The Philadelphia, Pennsylvania native is now 35-0 with 31 wins by knockout. This was his debut in the 154 pound division after being the IBF champion at 147 pounds.

After his impressive display against Lima, who should be the next opponent for Ennis?

Vergil Ortiz Jr.

Vergil Ortiz Jr is one of the bigger stars in the 154-pound division. He is currently 23-0 with 21 wins by knockout. Ortiz is undefeated like Ennis but he has been tested unlike Ennis.

Ortiz has come out on top after tough battles in his last two fights. In August of 2024, Ortiz defeated Serhii Bohachuk via majority decision. Ortiz was knocked down twice in the fight, in the first and eighth round. Ortiz showed lots of grit and skill in that bout as he overcame the knockdowns to win.

In Feburary of this year, he outboxed the tricky, Israil Madrimov and won by unanimous decision. Ortiz has tremendous knockout power but also can box with the best of the sport.

On November 8th, he is fighting against Erickson Lubin. Lubin only has two losses, which came to Jermell Charlo and Sebastian Fundora, who are both world champion level fighters. If Ortiz is able to defeat Lubin, this would set up perfectly for a early 2026 fight against Ennis.

Bakhram Murtazaliev

Bakhram Murtazaliev is the current IBF champion at 154 pounds. He has a record of 23-0 with 17 knockouts. In his last bout. Murtazaliev knocked out Tim Tszyu in the third round. Tszyu is a former champion that hadn’t lost by stoppage prior to the bout. Murtazaliev put the world on notice with that win in October of 2024 but hasn’t fought since.

Murtazaliev doesn’t have a new bout set yet and may be a prime candidate to be an opponent for Ennis in 2026. Ennis could become a world champion sooner, rather than later with this fight.

Xander Zayas

Xander Zayas is 22-0 with 13 knockouts. He doesn’t have the greatest resume when it comes to names but he is an exciting rising star that is very popular. I don’t know if team Zayas thinks he is ready for a high stakes fight like a match-up against Jaron Ennis.

This fight may be further down the line because of Zayas being with Top Rank and it is in their best interest to protect Zayas from biting off more than he can chew.

Abass Baraou

Abass Baraou is the WBA champion at 154 with a record of 17-1 with nine knockouts. He was awarded the WBA title after Terence Crawford vacated the belt to move up in weight to take on Saul “Canelo” Alvarez.

Baraou won the interim title after a very impressive win over the previously undefeated Yoenis Tellez. Baraou isn’t a big name but if Ennis is able to defeat him to become a world champion, it will lead to other big time fights in the division.

Jaron “Boots” Ennis has a very bright future and could be the number one pound for pound fighter in the world one day. I can’t wait to see who he fights next.