Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis entered tonight’s fight with a point to prove. His detractors had criticized his last two performances, questioning whether Eimantas Stanionis would prove too much for the 27-year-old. However, the Philadelphia native had a clear goal in mind and succeeded in executing it perfectly at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.

Despite being faced with the most challenging opponent of his career yet, Ennis remained calm and composed as he picked at Stanionis’ head and body. The Lithuanian had never been knocked down in his career—not in sparring, not in the amateurs, and not in his professional career—that is until he met Ennis in the ring. ‘Boots’ scored a late knockdown in the 6th round before Stanionis’ trainer, Marvin Somodio, asked the referee to stop the action following the sixth round. Ennis officially defended his IBF welterweight title while snatching Stanionis’ WBA belt and the vacant Ring Magazine title. However, he wasn’t the winner in every aspect of the fight.

In a previous interview, Tom Brown of TGB promotions had claimed he was tempted to steer Stanionis in a different direction after being lowballed for the Ennis fight. However, Stanionis wanted the unification matchup above all else. Meanwhile, right before the fight, Hearn revealed that Ennis was forced to take a massive pay cut to make the fight happen. 

“Stanionis is making more money than ‘Boots,’ and ‘Boots’ is ten times the draw of Stanionis,” Hearn said in an interview. “Trust me when I say, Stanionis has won the lottery in this fight. [Ennis] took less money than his contract money to make this fight happen, so that shows you how bad he wants it.”

Despite the pay cut, though, Ennis has decided to continue doing business with Eddie Hearn and his company Matchroom Boxing following his latest win, as reported by RING IQ BOXING TAWK. Regardless, with his latest win over Stanionis, Ennis’ promoter knows exactly who the 27-year-old should fight next.

Jaron Ennis’ promoter eyes Terence Crawford after win over Eimantas Stanionis

Following Jaron Ennis’ emphatic win over Eimantas Stanionis at Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, promoter Eddie Hearn has already set his sights on the biggest name in the division—Terence Crawford. Speaking ahead of the fight, Hearn called the matchup with Stanionis the “fight of the year for welterweight supremacy” and praised Ennis’ hunger for greatness.

“So happy because I promised Boots. He says, ‘Get me the best. I want the other belts. I want the champions,’” Hearn revealed. With Ennis now a unified champion, Hearn isn’t holding back. “I want him to fight Terence Crawford,” he said. “It’s one of the greatest fights you will ever see.” Interestingly enough, Hearn had previously accurately predicted, “I think he’ll stop Stanionis inside eight rounds.”

While the future remains uncertain, one thing is clear—Boots Ennis is ready to chase welterweight glory, and Crawford is firmly in his crosshairs.

That said, it appears Jaron Ennis was willing to take one pay cut to further his name in the welterweight division, which he has done. However, whether his latest win gets him the sort of fights he is looking for is yet to be seen. What did you think of Ennis’ performance?