Jaron “Boots” Ennis has officially begun his announced departure from the welterweight division by vacating his IBF world title.
This news is not a surprise. Ennis, 34-0 (30 KOs), confirmed his move from welterweight to junior middleweight in a social media post a few weeks ago. The newest IBF ratings, released on July 7, show that Ennis no longer holds its title.
The 28-year-old from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, won the interim IBF belt in January 2023 with a shutout of Karen Chukhadzhian, and knocked out Roiman Villa in 10 rounds that July. Although Terence Crawford unified all four titles three weeks later with his stellar stoppage of Errol Spence, Crawford never fought again at 147lbs.
And so Ennis was upgraded to the IBF’s full titleholder in November 2023. He made three defenses: a five-round stoppage of David Avanesyan in July 2024; a unanimous decision in a more competitive rematch with Chukhadzhian last November; and a six-round beating of Eimantas Stanionis this past April to unify the IBF title with the WBA title and the vacant Ring Magazine championship.
The WBA website still lists Ennis as holding its title; its ratings were last updated on July 1. Rolando “Rolly” Romero is the WBA’s secondary “regular” titleholder by virtue of his May decision win over Ryan Garcia; he would be upgraded upon Ennis’ departure.
As for the IBF belt, it is possible that the as-yet unscheduled rematch between Lewis Crocker (ranked No. 1) and Paddy Donovan (ranked No. 3, with the No. 2 spot vacant) would no longer be an elimination bout, but instead would be for the vacant title.
David Greisman, who has covered boxing since 2004, is on Twitter @FightingWords2. David’s book, “Fighting Words: The Heart and Heartbreak of Boxing,” is available on Amazon.
