For the majority of his career, Rashidi Ellis was able to skate by on pure skills and athleticism. Against Roiman Villa, however, the 30-year-old welterweight contender was forced to go to plan B.
On January 7th, at the Capital One Arena in Washington D.C., Ellis attempted to use Villa as a springboard to bigger and better things. But, after hurting his right hand early on, Ellis revealed that he was out of his element.
He boxed, used perpetual movement, and held on for dear life whenever Villa came within range. But while his game plan helped him bank most of the early rounds, it was Villa who had more in the tank in the second half. Two knockdowns in the final period also didn’t help Ellis.
As a reward, the 30-year-old will now take on Jaron “Boots” Ennis. Villa, despite possessing the sort of power that can send his opponents to another dimension, is viewed as a gigantic underdog this upcoming weekend. Still, as of late, Villa (26-1, 24 KOs) has shown a tendency for giving highly praised prospects their first defeat. But regardless of showing both Ellis and Janelson Figueroa Bocachica what it feels like to come out on the losing end, Ellis doesn’t believe that Ennis (30-0, 27 KOs) will have any issues whatsoever with Villa come fight night.
“Nah,” said Ellis to BoxingScene.com when asked if Villa has what it takes to beat Ennis. “Boots is gonna beat him. All you gotta do is look at my fight. All you have to do is work the jab and come with the right, I didn’t have a right.”
One hand or not, Ellis threw the kitchen sink at Villa. Yet, in spite of snapping his head back on countless occasions, Villa never grimaced in pain. Ennis though, appears to have a bit more pop at the end of his punches. For the newly turned 26-year-old, only recently was his knockout streak snapped. Karen Chukhadzhian, his latest opponent, refused to stand still and scored somewhat of a moral victory for remaining upright against Ennis for 12 complete rounds, despite losing a lopsided decision.
Villa, nevertheless, has never taken a step back. Ubiquitous firepower and a never-ending engine have made him a welterweight handful. But that could also make him a sitting duck for the sort of heat Ennis will be throwing in his direction. Ultimately, the question for Villa is whether or not his ironclad chin will hold up. According to Ellis though, he doubts it.
“He’s tough, that motherf—– can take a hit. I was hitting him with some sh!t but he (Ennis) could stop him, he could.”