Roiman Villa will try to knock off another undefeated welterweight next month.
BoxingScene.com has learned that the Venezuelan contender has accepted his most challenging assignment in eight years as a pro, a fight against emerging star Jaron “Boots” Ennis on July 8. Showtime will televise the 12-round, 147-pound main event between Ennis and Villa from Borgata Hotel Casino & Spa in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Philadelphia’s Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs, 1 NC) will defend his IBF interim welterweight title versus Villa (26-1, 24 KOs).
The hard-hitting Villa is ranked second among the IBF’s contenders in the 147-pound division. The number one spot in the IBF’s welterweight ratings is vacant.
Ennis and Villa most recently boxed on the Gervonta Davis-Hector Luis Garcia undercard January 7 at Capital One Arena in Washington, D.C.
Villa’s impressive victory over previously unbeaten Rashidi Ellis moved him up in the rankings and made him a viable opponent for Ennis, who has long wanted to test himself against elite-level welterweights Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. Crawford (39-0, 30 KOs), the WBO champion, and Spence (28-0, 22 KOs), the IBF/WBA/WBC champ, will finally fight July 29 at T-Mobile Arena in Las Vegas.
An aggressive Villa eventually wore down the slick Ellis, who boxed effectively before Villa’s persistent pressure led to a pair of 12th-round knockdowns that won him the fight on two scorecards.
The 30-year-old Villa won a majority decision over Ellis. Judges Dave Braslow and Paul Wallace scored their fight 114-112 for Villa. Judge Tammye Jenkins scored Villa-Ellis a draw, 113-113.
The 30-year-old Ellis (24-1, 15 KOs), of Lynn, Massachusetts, and Ennis spoke before their respective bouts January 7 about fighting each other next.
The 25-year-old Ennis went the distance for the first time in almost six years in the Showtime Pay-Per-View undercard fight that immediately followed Villa-Ellis on January 7. Unknown Ukrainian contender Karen Chukhadzhian surprisingly lasted all 12 rounds against Ennis in their fight for the then-unclaimed IBF interim 147-pound crown.
Ennis won every round on all three scorecards (120-108, 120-108, 120-108), but he drew criticism for failing to knock out Chukhadzhian. Ennis entered the ring as a 35-1 favorite over Chukhadzhian (22-2, 12 KOs), who had won 20 straight fights and has not been knocked out during his eight-year professional career.
Chukhadzhian fought mostly off his back foot and was reluctant to engage with Ennis, who only sporadically landed flush punches during their unremarkable 12-rounder. The fast, intelligent, powerful Ennis had won each of his previous 19 bouts by knockout or technical knockout.
Keith Idec is a senior writer/columnist for BoxingScene.com. He can be reached on Twitter @Idecboxing.