Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis dreams of becoming the undisputed champion in the welterweight division. “I don’t care [if Norman is next], I want to collect these belts. My whole thing is to be undisputed. My mindset is focused on WBC, WBO, WBA, and Ring Magazine. I want to be undisputed,” Boots said in one of his recent interviews. However, his first attempt towards making a unification bout with the recently elevated WBO champion Brian Norman Jr appears to have fallen through.

Reportedly, Ennis’ promoter Eddie Hearn had sent three fight offers, but none of them were lucrative enough for Brian Norman Jr‘s team. Supposedly, each time a new offer was sent, it was a ‘quarter of a million’ more than what was proposed earlier. The Matchroom Head honcho revealed that his team offered Norman Jr. $1.5 million in the end, but ‘The Assassin II’ rejected the offer too, reportedly demanding $2 million instead. As a result, Norman Jr. now faces accusations of ducking, despite the proposed fight offering the largest paycheck of his career and a potential unification bout.

Amidst the frustration over failed negotiations, Jaron Ennis’ father, Bozy Ennis, has come in with new information that could fuel the speculations of ducking even further. In an interview with YSM sports media, Bozy Ennis divulged some insider information about one of the sparring sessions that happened between Ennis and Norman Jr. He revealed that ‘Boots’ got the better of Norman Jr. in three rounds, fighting in a style that the latter prefers. Additionally, he stated that Ennis knocked Norman Jr. down with a body shot.

“Brian’s father said that they’ll do whatever(however many rounds of sparring they want). I said okay, they got in there..Boots broke him down in 3 rounds and I made Boots fight inside with him. His own game and backed him up,” Bozy disclosed.

Norman Jr.’s team is yet to make a rebuttal to Jaron Ennis’ father’s claims. Moreover, the twenty-three-year-old fighter will now fight Derrieck Cuevas on November 8th at the Scope Arena in Norfolk, Virginia on the undercard of lightweight contender Keyshawn Davis vs. Gustavo Lemos, after the failed negotiations for a unification bout.

Meanwhile, Jaron Ennis gave Brian Norman Jr. a reality check after he rejected multiple fight offers to make the unification bout.

Are you trying to set yourself up for retirement?

Ennis took a dig at the WBO champion for demanding such a steep price. Boots is desperate to show the world that he is worthy enough to be undisputed, but the reluctance from Brian Norman Jr’s team to take up the fight is frustrating him a lot.

“Make this fight happen. I want the fight. Let’s make it happen. Let’s make it happen right now,” Ennis told YSM Sports media. Further, expressing his frustration, Boots stated, “I don’t know if he’s looking for a retirement check or what, but I heard him say I ain’t a big dog…if you don’t think I’m a big dog why would you turn down your biggest payday multiple times?! C’MON!”

Now it seems Norman Jr has moved on from the fight. Frustratingly, Hearn will have to start all over again to make Jaron Ennis’ dream into a reality. The other two options left for Hearn are Mario Barrios and Eimantas Stanionis. But, initial offers that have been sent to them have also been rejected, Hearn previously claimed in an interview.

In his last fight, Jaron made his first successful title defense against David Avanesyan on July 13 this year. On the other hand, Brian Norman Jr. knocked out Giovani Santillan in an exciting match on May 18, securing the WBO’s interim title. He was later elevated to the status of full champion after Crawford vacated the WBO welterweight title.

Nevertheless, do you think Brian Norman Jr. is ducking Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis? Or do you think the price demanded by the Georgia native is fair? Let us know in the comment section below.