Jaron ‘Boots' Ennis makes major career move and gives up world titles

Jaron 'Boots' Ennis has announced he is moving up to super-welterweight, vacating the IBF and WBA welterweight titles in the process.
The unbeaten American, 27, has been one of the standouts at welterweight in recent years, especially with Terence Crawford leaving the division after becoming undisputed in July 2023, and Errol Spence Jr not having boxed since losing to Crawford that month.
Ennis long eyed a bout with Crawford, but the latter's sole bout since beating Spence Jr took place at super-welterweight, where he collected the WBA title with a win over Israil Madrimov last August. And now, Crawford is preparing for a super-middleweight megafight with Saul 'Canelo' Alvarez, the undisputed champion.
With Ennis's biggest welterweight fight having eluded him, he is set to emulate Crawford, 37, in moving up in weight. Or is he chasing the pound-for-pound star?
While Crawford is due to face Canelo at 167lb in September, it is possible that the American could return to 154lb thereafter. His bout with Madrimov saw him compete at a career-highest weight – which he will of course exceed against Canelo – as he stayed unbeaten and became a four-weight champion.
'ITS TIME! 154,' Ennis wrote on Instagram on Wednesday (18 June). 'YALL SAID THIS WHERE THE SMOKE AT RIGHT!?
'LETS HAVE IT THEN! 2X WEIGHT DIVISION CHAMP • 4X TIME WORLD CHAMP LOADING.'
Crawford still holds the WBA super-welterweight title, while Sebastian Fundora holds the WBC and WBO belts, and Bakhram Murtazaliev is IBF champion.
Last time out, Ennis dropped and stopped Eimantas Stanionis in the sixth round in April, retaining the IBF welterweight strap and collecting the WBA version.

Try Our AI Features

Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:

Learn with AIFact CheckingText to SpeechAI Summary

Related Articles

Reuters

8 minutes ago

• Reuters

MLB roundup: Padres win feisty finale against Dodgers

June 20 - Xander Bogaerts had a second-inning home run among his four hits and the visiting San Diego Padres earned a 5-3 victory over the Los Angeles Dodgers on Thursday to avoid a four-game sweep in a series that saw tempers reach a boiling point. Rookie right-hander Ryan Bergert opened with 4 2/3 scoreless innings as the Padres won for just the second time in seven games over a span of 11 days against the Dodgers. Jake Cronenworth had three hits, including an RBI double, for San Diego. Yoshinobu Yamamoto (6-6) gave up three runs on seven hits over 6 1/3 innings as the Dodgers' five-game winning streak ended. Both benches emptied in the ninth inning behind home plate after Fernando Tatis Jr. was hit by a pitch from Los Angeles right-hander Jack Little in his major league debut. Dodgers manager Dave Roberts and Padres manager Mike Shildt were ejected. In the ninth, Shohei Ohtani was then hit by a pitch from Robert Suarez, who was ejected. Tatis and Ohtani were hit by pitches twice in the series. The Dodgers' Andy Pages also was hit twice. Diamondbacks 9, Blue Jays 5 Eugenio Suarez had four RBIs, Ryne Nelson allowed one run in 5 2/3 innings and visiting Arizona defeated Toronto. Nelson (4-2) allowed one hit as the Diamondbacks salvaged the finale of a three-game series. Suarez had three hits, including a two-run homer and a two-run double, and Pavin Smith added a two-run homer among his three RBIs. Alejandro Kirk had two solo homers and an RBI single and Jonatan Clase also homered for the Blue Jays. Phillies 2, Marlins 1 Kyle Schwarber belted a tiebreaking solo homer with two outs in the eighth and Cristopher Sanchez tossed eight strong innings, guiding visiting Philadelphia past Miami. Schwarber's team-leading 23rd homer this season made a winner out of Sanchez (6-2), who allowed one run on five hits. Seventy of Sanchez's 91 pitches went for strikes. The Phillies recorded their seventh victory in their past eight games overall. Nick Fortes had a two-out RBI single in the fifth for the Marlins, and Heriberto Hernandez had two of his team's six hits. Twins 12, Reds 5 Byron Buxton extended his hot streak with two home runs to fuel Minnesota's win over Cincinnati. The Twins needed the victory to avoid a sweep, despite Buxton's four homers in the three-game series. The center fielder swatted a leadoff homer for the second straight game and hit another solo shot to go back-to-back with Kody Clemens in the next inning. Minnesota poured it on early, scoring nine runs through four innings. Ryan Jeffers also homered for the Twins in the eighth inning, while Gavin Lux hit a two-run shot in the third for the Reds. Every player in Minnesota's lineup recorded a hit and the Twins finished with 17 hits total. Yankees 7, Angels 3 Trent Grisham and Paul Goldschmidt hit back-to-back home runs as host New York stopped a season-high six-game losing streak with a victory over Los Angeles. Carlos Rodon (9-5) overcame allowing three solo homers and pitched six quality innings as the Yankees avoided losing seven straight for the first time since a nine-game slide from Aug. 12-22, 2023. Cody Bellinger collected three hits with an RBI single. Rodon gave up long balls to Mike Trout, Jo Adell and Taylor Ward but held the Angels to four hits and improved to 8-2 in his past 12 starts. Brewers 8, Cubs 7 Rhys Hoskins, Caleb Durbin and Isaac Collins homered and Milwaukee held on for a win at Chicago. Pete Crow-Armstrong, Dansby Swanson and Ian Happ hit home runs for the Cubs, who had their three-game winning streak snapped. Crow-Armstrong became the first player in franchise history to reach 20 homers and 20 steals before the All-Star break. Brewers starter Freddy Peralta (7-4) allowed three runs and two hits in five innings. Trevor Megill pitched the ninth for his 16th save. Cubs starter Jameson Taillon (7-4) gave up five runs on eight hits in four innings. Giants 2, Guardians 1 Pinch hitter Wilmer Flores stroked a go-ahead two-run double, Logan Webb threw seven innings of one-run ball and San Francisco salvaged one win in its three-game home series against Cleveland. Webb (7-5) combined with Randy Rodriguez and Camilo Doval on a seven-hitter, allowing the Giants to snap a season-high-tying four-game losing streak. Cleveland's only run came in the third on Carlos Santana's RBI single. After getting just two hits off Guardians starter Gavin Williams over six innings, the Giants got to reliever Matt Festa (1-1) and Nic Enright in the seventh. Nationals 4, Rockies 3 (11 innings) James Wood hit a two-run walk-off shot in the bottom of the 11th inning, his second home run of the game, and Washington snapped its 11-game losing streak with a win against visiting Colorado. Jacob Young led off against Seth Halvorsen (1-2) by bunting pinch runner Riley Adams to third. With the infield in, Michael Toglia made a diving stop on CJ Abrams grounder for the out at first base and Young held at third, bringing up Wood, who had hit a two-run homer in the fourth. Toglia hit an RBI single leading off the Colorado 11th against Ryan Loutos (1-0) to make it 3-2. Ryan McMahon had two hits for the Rockies, who had won four straight for the first time since May 2024. Tigers 9, Pirates 2 (Game 1) Riley Greene drove in four runs and Tarik Skubal collected another home victory as Detroit pounded Pittsburgh in the opener of a doubleheader. Skubal (8-2) gave up two runs and six hits in 5 2/3 innings. He walked three and struck out six while running his home record to 6-0. Skubal is 8-0 with five no-decisions in his past 13 starts. Gleyber Torres supplied three hits, two runs and two RBIs, while Zach McKinstry added a solo homer for the Tigers. Pittsburgh starter Andrew Heaney (3-6) gave up seven runs in four innings. Andrew McCutchen had two hits and an RBI for the Pirates. Pirates 8, Tigers 4 (Game 2, 10 innings) Pinch hitter Ke'Bryan Hayes sparked a four-run 10th inning with a go-ahead RBI single and Pittsburgh salvaged a split of a doubleheader at Detroit. Jared Triolo hit a two-run homer and Nick Gonzales and Andrew McCutchen supplied solo shots for the Pirates. David Bednar (2-5) picked up the win with 1 2/3 scoreless innings. Colt Keith ripped a two-run homer and Gleyber Torres hit a two-run double for the Tigers. Brant Hurter (2-2) was charged with four runs, three earned, in one inning. Cardinals 5, White Sox 4 (Game 1) St. Louis rallied for three runs in the eighth inning to hand host Chicago its seventh straight loss in the opener of a doubleheader. Facing Cam Booser (1-4), Alec Burleson opened the eighth with a single, then Willson Contreras launched a fastball into the left-center field seats to tie it 4-4. Nolan Gorman reached on a throwing error and scored on Yohel Pozo's two-out single. Cardinals starter Erick Fedde gave up two runs (one earned) on six hits in five innings. Andre Granillo (1-0) got the final out in the seventh, and Ryan Helsley tossed a perfect ninth for the save. Michael A. Taylor hit a solo shot for the White Sox. Cardinals 8, White Sox 6 (Game 2, 10 innings) St. Louis scored twice in the 10th inning to recover for a win at Chicago, sweeping a doubleheader and the three-game series. Nolan Arenado hit the go-ahead single in the 10th, and Lars Nootbaar added a solo shot in the inning. Arenado and Alec Burleson homered earlier. JoJo Romero (3-3) tossed a scoreless ninth, and Andre Granillo did the same in the 10th to record his first career save. The White Sox took their eighth straight loss despite a grand slam from Andrew Benintendi and a solo homer from Ryan Noda. Chicago erased a 6-1 deficit with a five-run seventh inning. Royals 4, Rangers 1 Rookie Jac Caglianone homered twice and Vinnie Pasquantino also went deep to back the three-hit pitching of Michael Wacha and three relievers as Kansas City swept the three-game series in Arlington, Texas. Wacha (4-6) went six innings, allowing one run on two hits. He worked out of a two-on, no-out jam in the fifth and didn't give up a hit until Wyatt Langford's one-out single in the sixth. Carlos Estevez pitched the ninth for Kansas City to earn his second save of the series and his 21st of the season. Rangers opener Shawn Armstrong (2-2) gave up two runs in his lone inning. Marcus Semien drove in Texas' run with a double in the sixth. Braves 7, Mets 1 Spencer Strider pitched six strong innings and Matt Olson hit a three-run double to help Atlanta beat visiting New York and complete a three-game series sweep. The Braves have won six of their past seven games, while the Mets have lost a season-high six straight. Strider (2-5) allowed one run on five hits. Olson went 2-for-3 with two doubles, two walks and two runs. New York starter Clay Holmes (7-4) gave up three runs on four hits in 4 2/3 innings. Juan Soto singled off Strider to pick up his 1,000th career hit. Athletics 6, Astros 4 (10 innings) Nick Kurtz drilled a two-run homer to center field with one out in the bottom of the 10th inning to give the Athletics a victory over Houston in West Sacramento, Calif. Willie MacIver, Lawrence Butler and Jacob Wilson also homered for the A's, who split the four-game set with the Astros. A's starter Jacob Lopez struck out a career-best nine for the third time in his last four outings. He allowed one run, four hits and three walks in six innings. Houston's Victor Caratini hit a three-run homer in the eighth inning to tie it. Josh Hader (4-1) took the loss. Orioles 4, Rays 1 Charlie Morton threw six quality innings and Colton Cowser hit a go-ahead three-run home run in the sixth inning, propelling Baltimore to a victory at Tampa Bay. Morton (4-7) allowed one run on six hits as the Orioles gained a split of the four-game series. Baltimore closer Felix Bautista struck out a pair in a perfect ninth for his 15th save. Rays starter Drew Rasmussen (6-5) allowed two runs on four hits in 5 1/3 innings. Danny Jansen hit an RBI single in the third inning. --Field Level Media

Times

15 minutes ago

• Times

Inside Josh Kerr's training camp, a running mecca 5,000 miles from home

T he sun has yet to rise over the Sandia Mountains that provide a spectacular backdrop to his New Mexico home but Josh Kerr has already sent a video message to one of his training partners. 'Hope you're enjoying your lie-in,' he says to Brandon Miller, which is Kerr's way of letting the American know that today, like every other day, he means business. It is 5.30am and within four minutes Miller has fired back a message to his friend and tormentor. He too is up and preparing for a track session that will leave Britain's 1,500m world champion and double Olympic medal-winner seeking the shade of a tree while trying not to vomit. The exchange between Kerr and Miller is good-humoured but there is method to this early-morning madness. Kerr wants every workout to count and he endeavours to do this by creating a sense of competition among the professional runners who form the Brooks Beasts Track Club. 'We're not f***ing around here,' he says.

Telegraph

28 minutes ago

• Telegraph

I visited the World Cup final venue in New York... it is dull and dangerously hot

It is 10.45am at the MetLife Stadium, but it is already dangerously hot. It is 32C in the shade and some fans are feeling it as they walk. Two New Jersey state police officers are sitting in a gazebo outside the vast steel perimeter of what will be the venue for next year's World Cup final. Directly behind them is a large air conditioning unit – pumping chill air out into the open as the searing heat bounces off the tarmac and concrete that stretches out across the vast surrounding car parks and into the rest of the Meadowlands sports complex beyond. The officers are happy, but environmentally, it is a disaster. The 10.45am local time may well be at half-time during next year's World Cup final, which takes place in this stadium not in mid-June but on July 19, the absolute height of summer. And so this is what happened when attending a Club World Cup group game, between the Brazilian club Palmeiras and the Egyptian champions Al-Ahly. It is a story of a fixture that started at midday and was therefore due to finish before 2pm, and eventually ended at 2.52pm because the stands were evacuated due to a severe weather warning, including the small risk of a tornado. Even then, English referee Anthony Taylor should have announced far more than just six minutes of added time. But by then the players had stopped. It is also the story of another half-empty stadium – just 35,179 inside this huge open bowl that holds 82,500 – and of an Uber taxi driver trying to charge $150 (£111.40) in the middle of the afternoon for the tortuously slow eight-mile trip back into central New York. When challenged, he immediately dropped his price to $100 – still a rip-off. And it is the story of an apparently unloved stadium, built just 18 years ago and criticised for its lack of character and atmosphere, where it can take up to two hours to get out of the car park, but which will host the most watched sports event in the world with five billion viewers. First the heat. Fifa will not confirm the kick-off time for next year's final until after the World Cup draw in December. But there is speculation it could be as early as 10am (3pm UK time), although the semi-finals and final of this tournament, also held here, are scheduled for 3pm local time (8pm in the UK). That feels more likely. The humidity on my visit was 60 per cent and that is on the cusp of affecting sports performance, according to experts. At 1.25pm, the game was suspended. Just over an hour had been played when it was announced that everyone in the stands and the players on the pitch had to leave to take shelter inside the stadium because of a potential lightning storm. There was even a small chance of a tornado. A message emblazoned on the giant screens read: 'Your attention please. For your safety, we are going to have everyone leave the seating bowl area and take shelter inside the stadium because of severe weather in the area. Those on the field, please walk calmly to the nearest tunnel, to the West Hall, or the service corridor.' The delay, with Palmeiras 2-0 up, lasted 50 minutes. Many fans of Al-Ahly – there is a large Egyptian diaspora in the United States and New Jersey in particular – simply decided not to return. There was even a delay to the delay as Taylor could not get his communication equipment to work and then we waited for the broadcasters to be ready. Just 14 minutes later there was a drinks break, the second of the game, but interest among fans had dwindled by then and the game petered away. Is this the kind of football Fifa wants? The first drinks stop came after half an hour with players already being draped in wet towels and handed ice packs. When Taylor announced over the PA system that he was rescinding a red card he had wrongly awarded for a tackle, after a VAR check, the sweat was pouring down his shaved head. Weather cannot be controlled but how will such a delay and an apparent dwindling of interest look for next year's World Cup final? Instead of trying to explain what was going on, the officials spent their time trying to stop journalists live-streaming and checking their accreditations. After all, all Fifa content must be protected, even at the price of preventing information being spread. It was not just the players feeling the heat. There is very little shade inside this enormous roofless bowl for the supporters with those at the vertiginous top also having pretty poor views. Small bottles of water were selling for $5 and Bud Light beer at $14. Hot dogs? They were $8.50 and a pretzel $9 – plus tax. Not that the police liked anyone walking around with a water bottle. I was stopped and surrounded by no fewer than eight officers and had to have my bag checked, firstly by a sniffer dog. Fifa will set its own prices – do not expect them to go down – and deliver its own branding for the World Cup, which is partly why it has chosen for the tournament so many bigger American football stadiums, such as this one, the home of the New York Jets and Giants. Only 12 of the 63 games are being played in stadiums specifically designed for 'soccer', with eight of the 12 grounds having capacities of at least 65,000. Four of them will be used at the World Cup, with the MetLife hosting the most games. This competition is a dry run. A very dry run, given the temperature. The Club World Cup game was tough going. It was the third to be played in this stadium already during this tournament with the previous two ending goalless. When a score arrived it was an own goal headed headed in by Al-Ahly striker Wessam Abou Ali before Palmeiras substitute José Manuel López broke away to add a smartly taken second. At that point, an Egyptian journalist in the press box, wearing a red Al-Ahly shirt and who had been shouting throughout the game, unplugged his phone and walked away in disgust. Even the playing surface at the stadium has been criticised. The MetLife pitch with its synthetic grass is notoriously disliked by the NFL players – with 13 serious injuries suffered in the past five years, including famed quarterback Aaron Rodgers tearing his Achilles, so Fifa installed real turf. But players and coaches at this tournament have not been impressed and right up until kick-off, and then at half-time, four large firemen's hoses were dragged on to drench the pitch. It still quickly dried out. Getting to the MetLife is not easy. The stadium is in East Rutherford, right in the middle of Meadowlands, to the west of New York, near to the highways that lead into the city and the main routes around New Jersey. There is simply nothing else nearby and fans are told not to attempt to walk from local hotels. 'It is illegal and dangerous,' they have been warned in one poster. There are plenty of parking spaces for about $50, but how many fans attending the World Cup will have cars? And, it takes up to two hours to get out of the car parks – longer than the actual game unless there is another weather incident. The Meadowlands rail station, right on the doorstep, is open on match days, although fans were being directed instead to buses at the final whistle and it is a slow journey from Secaucus Junction, where they have to change trains to New York Penn Street. The Palmeiras supporters,who had taken over Brooklyn Bridge, were out in force, smuggling in flags and banners far bigger than those permitted by Fifa and trying to create any atmosphere. But this stadium lacks any character. It just feels a bit drab and grey and unsuitable and has been plonked in the middle of nowhere. It is dull, much like the football played here during this tournament so far. Even though ticket prices had been cut to just $38, huge sections of the stadium – three-quarters of the top tier and even more of the middle one – were closed and taken off sale. It will be different for the World Cup and the latter stages of this competition. Demand will be far higher. But that raises more serious questions, with complaints that the walkways out are too narrow for huge crowds to easily disperse. Maybe it will look differently next year when it is kitted out by Fifa, even if it will be hard to transform a stadium which has been compared to an air conditioning unit in the way it looks and the way it feels. Which, of course, is where we started.