On July 29th, a fight some five years in the making will clear up the question of just who has been the best welterweight in the world in the post-Floyd Mayweather era.
The fighter who will replace the winner of Errol Spence-Terence Crawford atop the welterweight division may have spoken violently on Saturday night.
Over the course of ten increasingly one-sided rounds, Jaron Ennis battered, broke down, and ultimately stopped a game and willing Roiman Villa in an entertaining affair. Going in, Ennis was expected to win based on his superior skill and speed. It was the road to victory that increased the impression of Ennis.
Saturday’s performance was one where the winner got to show off a little bit of everything. Ennis boxed from range, warred in the trenches, clinched wisely, handled some heavy shots from Villa, and closed the show with flair.
Villa made a fight of it for a while and never quit trying. He even made a case for winning a couple rounds in the first half of the fight, particularly the third and fifth. Earlier this year, Villa grinded out a win over Rashidi Ellis, erasing a deficit of speed and technique with heavy hands and steady assault. He attempted to do the same thing to Ennis.
Ennis turned out to catch a lot better than Ellis.
The win was the second for the victor against a fighter rated in the top ten by TBRB or Ring Magazine as he moved to 31 victories. In an era where many fighters don’t start facing serious contenders until after they’ve already secured their first alphabet strap, and post careers that will struggle to get to forty professional starts, Ennis has time to add more quality wins and wins period before he even gets his first shot.
It says a lot about what happens when the title picture consolidates. What does it say for the immediate future for Ennis?
Futures: This weekend’s biggest black eye was the loss of an anticipated showdown between Vergil Ortiz and Eimantas Stanionis. Ortiz was forced to pull out for medical reasons and Stanionis is without a dance partner. Ennis-Stanionis, like Ennis-Villa, would be a great clash of welterweight hopefuls while Spence and Crawford square off (potentially twice).
There are also former titlists Ennis could target. Keith Thurman and Yordenis Ugas would both provide Ennis the kind of opponent that could expand the excitement about him from outside an already intrigued boxing bubble. Saturday put a lopsided but forgettable performance against Karen Chukhadzhian behind Ennis and reminded everyone why they were excited in the first place.
At just 27, Ennis has time on his side. If that time is spent with more opponents who can push the best out of him, the ceiling is high.
The winner of Spence-Crawford may not stick around welterweight. If they do, Ennis will be waiting sometime in 2024 and he might just be waiting to beat them.
Cliff Rold is the Managing Editor of BoxingScene, a founding member of the Transnational Boxing Rankings Board, a member of the International Boxing Research Organization, and a member of the Boxing Writers Association of America. He can be reached at roldboxing@hotmail.com