Jaron Ennis vs. Sergey Lipinets - April 10, 2021

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jaron Ennis vs Sergey Lipinets reportedly in the works for April

Top welterweight prospect Jaron Ennis missed out on a step-up fight last month, but he’s apparently already got eyes on another one. Steve Kim reports that a clash between “Boots” and former super lightweight champion Sergey Lipinets “is being discussed for April.”

Ennis (26-0, 24 KO) was supposed to face Thomas Dulorme on Showtime’s December 12th Raymart Gaballo-Emmanuel Rodriguez card, only for Chris Van Heerden to step in when the Puerto Rican veteran contracted COVID. The pair got to fight for just under three minutes before a clash of heads split Van Heerden’s forehead open and forced a halt.

Fortunately, he’ll almost certainly get the test he was after against Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KO), who’s seemingly found his footing at 147 pounds after a shaky start. Knockouts of Lamont Peterson and Jayar Inson set up an IBF eliminator against Kudratillo Abdukakhorov, which fell through due to the Uzbek’s visa issues. He instead faced unheralded Custio Clayton, with whom he warred over 12 rounds en route to a majority draw.

Though not truly “elite,” Lipinets is tough as nails and willing to throw down with just about anyone. That’s a perfect test for Ennis, who’s thus far bulldozed everyone with little issue.

[Best Coast]

Nice test for Boots Ennis! Lipinets has a good chin so I see Boots winning by clearcut decision.

[goose 5]

I like Ennis to stop him. I'd like to see Ennis versus Danny Garcia in a Philly showdown.

[Best Coast]

I like Ennis to stop him. I'd like to see Ennis versus Danny Garcia in a Philly showdown.

I hope you're right on both counts. I will be super-impressed if Ennis can stop the durable Lipinets!!

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jaron Ennis, Sergey Lipinets Agree To Terms For Welterweight Clash In April

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis didn’t need a conclusive ending in his last fight to know he’s ready to advance to the next level.

The unbeaten rising welterweight will endure his toughest test to date, as the Philadelphia-bred talent will next face former 140-pound titlist Sergey Lipinets. A deal has been reached between the two camps for a terrific clash between top contenders on a Showtime card currently penciled in for April 10, Boxing Scene has learned through sources from both sides.

The event will likely take place behind closed doors at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut, where all but one Showtime-branded event has been staged since the pandemic. While both search for a shot at the “Big 4” titles (WBA/WBC/IBF/WBO), it is understood that the IBO welterweight strap will be at stake for the contest.

The Athletic’s Mike Coppinger was the first to report the bout being finalized.

A promising 2020 campaign ended in disappointment for Ennis, who had to setlle for a No Decision in a vacant IBO title fight with South African southpaw Chris van Heerden last December on Showtime. Ennis jumped out to a strong start before a clash of heads left van Heerden (28-2-1, 12 KOs; 1ND) with a deep gash atop his forehead. The wound was severe enough to end the contest at just 2:39 of round one, ending Ennis’s run of 16 consecutive knockouts.

It hasn’t at all dampened the industry-wide enthusiasm surrounding Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs; 1ND), nor has the 23-year old shied away from challenging the very best in 2021 and beyond.

“I’m ready for anybody in the Top 5. I don’t care,” Ennis previously told Boxing Scene after his last bout. “I’m hungry. It’s my time now.

“Onto 2021, I’m taking over and I will be world champion. I’m ready to go to the next level. Let’s go.”

The next targeted opponent would indeed represent the next level.

Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) comes in well-credentialed, having previously reigned as a junior welterweight titleholder. His lone loss came in a 12-round unanimous decision at the hands of then-unbeaten pound-for-pound entrant Mikey Garcia in March 2018. The 31-year old from Martuk, Kazakhstan—who is now based in California and trains with Joe Goossen—has since moved up to welterweight, where he is unbeaten in his last four starts.

Most notable among the lot was a 10th round stoppage of former two-division titlist Lamont Peterson in their March 2019 scorcher. However, the hard-hitting Kazakhstani was held to a draw versus unbeaten Custio Clayton in his most recent start. The bout came on short notice, as Lipinets trained for an interim welterweight title fight versus unbeaten Kudratillo Abdukakhorov, who was a late scratch due to an inability to secure a P1 visa which left him unable to make the trip from Malaysia to the United States.

Lipinets was still afforded a chance to fight for the interim IBF title, where a win would have positioned him as the mandatory challenger to reigning unified IBF/WBC welterweight titlist Errol Spence (27-0, 21 KOs). Because of the draw verdict and the interim title unclaimed, Abdukakhorov remains the mandatory challenger in waiting.

Nevertheless, Ennis and Lipinets will have a chance to make a statement in a terrific matchup between perennial Top 10 contenders.

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Dulorme-Stanionis Set For April 10 On Showtime’s Ennis-Lipinets Undercard

Thomas Dulorme had hoped late last year to have his fight with Jaron Ennis rescheduled.

The veteran welterweight instead will appear on Ennis’ undercard April 10. BS.com has learned that Dulorme and undefeated prospect Eimantas Stanionis have agreed to meet in a 12-round WBA welterweight elimination match that’ll be part of the Ennis-Sergey Lipinets undercard six weeks from Saturday night at Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut.

Showtime will televise the 12-round main event between Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs, 1 NC), a highly touted welterweight from Philadelphia, and Kazakhstan’s Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) and Dulorme-Stanionis as part of a “Showtime Championship Boxing” tripleheader.

The 31-year-old Dulorme (25-4-1, 16 KOs), a Las Vegas resident raised in Puerto Rico, was supposed to face Ennis on December 19 at Mohegan Sun Arena. South African southpaw Chris van Heerden replaced Dulorme as Ennis’ opponent once Dulorme tested positive for COVID-19 late in November.

The Ennis-van Heerden fight resulted in a no-contest when van Heerden (28-2-1, 12 KOs, 1 NC) suffered a deep, long cut on the right side of his forehead from an accidental head-butt late in the first round of their scheduled 12-round fight for the vacant IBO welterweight title.

Minneapolis’ Jamal James (27-1, 12 KOs) defeated Dulorme in Dulorme’s most recent fight, a 12-rounder for the then-vacant WBA interim welterweight title August 8 at Microsoft Theater in Los Angeles. Dulorme’s four defeats have come against James, WBO welterweight champ Terence Crawford, WBA world welterweight champ Yordenis Ugas and Luis Abregu.

In Lithuania’s Stanionis, Dulorme will face a 26-year-old prospect who wants to box better competition. Stanionis (12-0, 9 KOs), a 2016 Olympian, knocked out Colombia’s Janer Gonzalez (19-4-1, 15 KOs) in the ninth round of his most recent fight, December 26 at Shrine Auditorium & Expo Hall in Los Angeles.

Lipinets, meanwhile, is considered a step up in competition for Ennis, even though Lipinets fought to a 12-round majority draw with undefeated Canadian contender Custio Clayton (18-0-1, 12 KOs) in his last fight, October 24 at Mohegan Sun Arena.

[bobcatbox]

Sign. Me. Up.

Great step up fight for Boots. I think he’ll knock out Lipinets about 8th or 9th. Boots has too much sheer speed, power, talent, and athleticism.

[Cent0089]

Wondering how long will be Spence, Crawford, Garcia and Porter avoid this guy

[JxhDel.]

Jaron will have to do his best yeat to put down Lipinets, who can hit really hard.

[margaret thatcher]

jah ron is such a beast, will beat up and bloody a brave sergey

[brilo33]

dangerous fight , ennis i expect to win it ko mid rds but lipinets could be dangerous early

[goose 5]

I'd bet Ennis and take the under.

[gregregegg]

Ennis has looked amazing at the levle he has fought so far, but holy fornicate this is a step up.

Never understand this matchmaking progression.. why fight 25 guys well outside the top 100 then fight 15th in the world... why not fight 20 outside top 100, then a 70th-ish, then a 50th-ish, then a 30th-ish then a 15th-ish...

[margaret thatcher]

i think for the first 2 years he didnt have much push behind him so hence only fought a bunch of lowly opponents on smaller shows

[goose 5]

gregregreg: My friend, what you are proposing is the way it was done at one time. those days are long gone-with few exceptions. Ennis is being developed in the gym.

[gregregegg]

gregregreg: My friend, what you are proposing is the way it was done at one time. those days are long gone-with few exceptions. Ennis is being developed in the gym.

Yea, gym development is fine, but these sudden step ups are risky. Yard vs Kov, Daniel dubious vs joyce, Josh kelly vs avesanya... in a gym you have big gloves, you dont/shouldent keep fighting once your heads scrambled, you dont/shouldent keep fighting if you injure yourself. its very controled, and not very stressfull. Thats why i think people should stick to working through the levles.

Ennis has never been past round 6 in a fight and those fights have been easy, so hows he ment to know if his cardio can handle it when the pressures on. Also He has basicaly never lost a round, so how do you realy know how he copes mentally with a bad 3 mins, or a bad 6 mins, or a bad 9 mins.... Gym is good for skills, but there are things you cant learn in the gym, i dont like it when people skip important development fights.

[Cent0089]

I dont know why you goys talking about huge step up and big risk. Lipinets is good, but he is pretty limited. If Ennis cannot handle that, then he is limited too. I think Ennis will handle this and then will be avoided by both Crawford and Spence .

[Fightnight Scores]

gregregreg: My friend, what you are proposing is the way it was done at one time. those days are long gone-with few exceptions. Ennis is being developed in the gym.

Yea, gym development is fine, but these sudden step ups are risky. Yard vs Kov, Daniel dubious vs joyce, Josh kelly vs avesanya... in a gym you have big gloves, you dont/shouldent keep fighting once your heads scrambled, you dont/shouldent keep fighting if you injure yourself. its very controled, and not very stressfull. Thats why i think people should stick to working through the levles.

Ennis has never been past round 6 in a fight and those fights have been easy, so hows he ment to know if his cardio can handle it when the pressures on. Also He has basicaly never lost a round, so how do you realy know how he copes mentally with a bad 3 mins, or a bad 6 mins, or a bad 9 mins.... Gym is good for skills, but there are things you cant learn in the gym, i dont like it when people skip important development fights.

At some ppint you have to make that step. Lipinets is a tough veteran but he's not a slickster or any kind of high level operater. Ennis, as a hugely promosing talent should have the tools to outbox him, and this will be a very real test in how his power translate against higher calibre opponents.
It's a good match up for this stage of his career.

[gregregegg]

I agree at some point you have to step up. This isnt me definitely saying this fight is too soon, this is me saying ennis last 3 fights should of built to this (his last one attempted to but a round 1 no contest dosent help you at all). I dunno id just give him a Sebastian Formella type, hopfuly take him into the back half of the fight, experence that against a low threat guy so you dont end up lost and gassing in deep water round 10 for the first time up against a pretty decent guy.

[bobcatbox]

I agree at some point you have to step up. This isnt me definitely saying this fight is too soon, this is me saying ennis last 3 fights should of built to this (his last one attempted to but a round 1 no contest dosent help you at all). I dunno id just give him a Sebastian Formella type, hopfuly take him into the back half of the fight, experence that against a low threat guy so you dont end up lost and gassing in deep water round 10 for the first time up against a pretty decent guy.

He’s ready for Sergey. I’d give him a fighting chance against any welter. It’s not a talent stacked division, and the dudes who carry most of the talent are old. Young , fast, powerful, talented Ennis is coming for the top of the division!

[Ruthless-RKO]

Ancajas-Rodriguez Set To Open Showtime's Ennis-Lipinets Tripleheader April 10

Jerwin Ancajas’ debut with Premier Boxing Champions has been scheduled.

BS.com has learned that the Filipino southpaw will defend his IBF junior bantamweight championship against Jonathan Javier Rodriguez on April 10 in Uncasville, Connecticut. Showtime will televise Ancajas-Rodriguez as the opener of a tripleheader that’ll feature welterweights Jaron Ennis and Sergey Lipinets in the main event at Mohegan Sun Arena.

Mexico’s Rodriguez (22-1, 16 KOs) is the mandatory challenger for Anjacas’ IBF 115-pound crown. Rodriguez, 25, is ranked third by the IBF, but the top two spots in that New Jersey-based sanctioning organization’s junior bantamweight rankings are vacant.

Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KOs) has not fought since he stopped Chile’s Miguel Gonzalez (31-3, 8 KOs) in the sixth round of their scheduled 12-rounder in December 2019 in Puebla, Mexico.

Gonzalez was ranked 14th by the IBF at that time. Ancajas’ mandatory defense has been due since February 2020, which is why Ancajas must face Rodriguez next.

Ancajas, 29, amicably finalized a separation agreement with his former promoter, Top Rank Inc., early this year. The termination of a contract extension Ancajas signed with Bob Arum’s company in 2020 enabled him to fight for Al Haymon’s PBC, which has television deals with Showtime and FOX.

Ancajas is 19-0-1, including 17 knockouts, since suffering his only loss – a 10-round majority decision to fellow Filipino Mark Anthony Geraldo (then 24-5-3) in March 2012 in Lapu-Lapu City, Philippines. Three fights ago, though, Ancajas settled for a 12-round split draw with Mexico’s Alejandro Barrios (then 16-2-4) in September 2018 at Oracle Arena in Oakland, California.

Rodriguez has won six straight bouts since Jose Estrada Garcia (then 5-2-1) defeated him by split decision in a 10-rounder in March 2018 in Monterrey, Mexico.

The Ancajas-Rodriguez fight will immediately precede Showtime’s 12-round WBA welterweight elimination match between Lithuania’s Eimantas Stanionis (12-0, 9 KOs) and Thomas Dulorme (25-4-1, 16 KOs), a veteran contender from Puerto Rico. Philadelphia’s Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs, 1 NC) and Kazakhstan’s Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) will headline this three-bout broadcast in what is expected to be a 12-round WBO welterweight eliminator.

[Cent0089]

Eliminator? So winner of this will be Crawford mandatory?

[Ruthless-RKO]

Mark Magsayo added to Showtime card

Ryan Songalia reports at The RING that Jerwin Ancajas will finally return to defend his IBF junior bantamweight title and Mark Magsayo will also be in action on Showtime’s April 10 card, headlined by a welterweight bout between top prospect Jaron Ennis and former 140-pound titlist Sergey Lipinets.

25-year-old featherweight Magsayo (21-0, 14 KOs) will look to get some momentum back after his Oct. 2020 win over crafty Rigoberto Hermosillo. It was a split decision where the rather hyped prospect struggled despite the absurd 100-90 score card from California judge Rudy Barragan, which was honestly two times worse than Carlos Sucre’s much-maligned and SUSPENSION!!-worthy 117-111 Estrada card from this past weekend, but Barragan’s card happened on an FS1 PBC show that nobody watched so it didn’t raise much fuss.

In April, Magsayo will face Pablo Cruz (21-3, 6 KOs), a 34-year-old from Houston nicknamed “The Lethal Mosquito,” which is an excellent nickname but on paper a step back from Hermosillo, who is a really good prospect checker. It might also be the right move for Magsayo.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Press Release | Tripleheader Announced

Rising welterweight star Jaron “Boots” Ennis faces his most difficult test in pursuit of a world title shot as he headlines his first SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING® against former world champion Sergey Lipinets. These formidable contenders meet in a 12-round, crossroads fight with welterweight world title implications on Saturday, April 10 live on SHOWTIME at 9 p.m. ET/6 p.m. PT from Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Conn. in a Premier Boxing Champions event.

In the SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING co-feature, a pair of hard-hitting welterweights square off as Eimantas Stanionis takes another step up in class as he faces former world title challenger Thomas Dulorme in a 12-round WBA Welterweight Title Eliminator. The telecast opener features IBF Junior Bantamweight World Champion Jerwin “Pretty Boy” Ancajas defending his title against Jonathan Rodríguez in a 12-round bout.

The event is promoted by TGB Promotions. Ennis vs. Lipinets is promoted in association with D&D Boxing.

“Ennis vs. Lipinets is a fantastic fight in the welterweight division that pits an ascending force in Ennis against a former world champion in Lipinets,” said Tom Brown, President of TGB Promotions. “It’s a very competitive fight that presents a fascinating clash of styles and will have big implications on the future of the 147-pound division. Another sensational young welterweight will look for a career best win in the co-feature, as Eimantas Stanionis takes on his toughest test to date in the veteran Thomas Dulorme. Adding in 115-pound champion Jerwin Ancajas seeking an impressive ninth title defense against Mexico’s Jonathan Rodríguez, and all the ingredients are in place for an action-packed night on SHOWTIME April 10.”

Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs) is the latest in the pantheon of outstanding Philadelphia fighters, combining sublime boxing skills with natural power in both hands. After numerous appearances on ShoBox: The New Generation, the 23-year-old Ennis has graduated to headlining his first SHOWTIME CHAMPIONSHIP BOXING telecast. Heading into his last bout against Chris van Heerden, Ennis was riding a streak of 16 consecutive knockouts. That streak ended when the fight was stopped after the first round due to an accidental clash of heads that opened a severe cut on the forehead of Van Heerden.

“I’m excited to be back April 10,” said Ennis. “This is the type of fight I’ve been waiting for. I can’t wait to perform and put on a beautiful show. Y’all will see something special out of me come fight night. I’m excited to be the main event. It’s time for me to shine!”

The 31-year-old Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) established himself as a force at 140 pounds when he won the IBF world title with a victory over Akihiro Kondo in 2017. He lost the title to four-division world champion Mikey Garcia in 2018 and then moved up to welterweight in 2019. He served notice that he would be a contender at welterweight when he scored an impressive stoppage victory over two-division champion Lamont Peterson in 2019. Born in Kazakhstan and representing Russia, Lipinets now lives in Woodland Hills, California and is trained by renowned trainer Joe Goossen. Lipinets is coming off a hard-fought majority draw against undefeated Custio Clayton in October 2020.

Stanionis (12-0, 9 KOs) has put together a string of impressive victories as he has climbed up the ranks from prospect to contender. He enters the match against Dulorme with four consecutive knockout victories. The 26-year-old from Lithuania, who now lives and trains in California, looked impressive as he picked up three solid victories in 2019, beating Samuel Figueroa via unanimous decision and scoring early stoppages against Julio Cesar Sanchez and Evincii Dixon. The undefeated welterweight has put the division on notice with back-to-back dominating main event performances in November and December 2020, when he notched ninth-round knockouts over Justin DeLoach and Janer Gonzalez respectively.

The 31-year-old Dulorme (25-4-1, 16 KOs) has amassed a solid resume at 140 and 147 pounds during his career, climbing into the ring with world champions Yordenis Ugas, Jessie Vargas and Terence Crawford. Born in Marigot, Guadeloupe but fighting out of and representing Carolina, Puerto Rico, Dulorme rebounded from a loss to Crawford for a 140-pound title by scoring back-to-back knockouts, followed by a narrow decision loss to top welterweight Yordenis Ugas. The world title challenger is coming off a unanimous decision loss to Jamal James in his last fight in August.

“I’m very excited for this fight on April 10,” said Dulorme. “I came up short in my last fight for the title, but a win against Stanionis will put me right back into the position I want. He’s young and strong, but I have a lot more experience and I will show it in the ring and it will lead me to victory.”

Representing the Philippines, Ancajas (32-1-2, 22 KOs) was only 15 years old when he was spotted by boxing legend Manny Pacquiao. The young fighter blossomed with Pacquiao’s guidance, becoming the first world champion under Pacquiao’s promotional banner when he outpointed McJoe Arroyo for the IBF World Junior Bantamweight title in September 2016. The 29-year-old southpaw hasn’t lost since and will be making the ninth defense of his title when he faces Rodríguez. In his most recent outing in December, Ancajas stopped Miguel Gonzalez in six rounds.

“I am really looking forward to returning to the ring on April 10 for my first fight on SHOWTIME,” said Ancajas. “Everybody knows the great rivalry between the Philippines and Mexico, and I look forward to adding another explosive fight to that history. Fight fans know where all the action fights are right now, and that’s the 115-pound division. I’m thankful for this opportunity and I plan to make the most of it.”

Mexico’s Rodríguez (22-1, 16 KOs) was given the nickname “Titan” because of his prodigious power. Since suffering a disputed split-decision loss to Jose Martin Estrada Garcia in March 2018, the 25-year-old has won six straight, including a first-round knockout victory over Julian Yedras last December. He will be making his U.S. debut against Ancajas.

“This is the opportunity of a lifetime for me,” said Rodríguez. “When I started boxing, it was my dream to fight for the world title and win it. On April 10, all of my dreams and hard work will come true when I hear ‘and the new IBF champion of the world.’”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Ennis-Lipinets presser quotes

JARON ENNIS

“Training camp has been going well. I’m ready to rock and roll, ready to shine and take over this division. It’s my time and this is the fight that’s going to take me to the next level and bring out the skills and ability that you’ve never seen before. You will see an amazing, strong, sharp fighter ready to put on a punishing performance and get the knockout at the end of the night.

“I know Sergey Lipinets is going to come forward and be right in front of me. That’s his style and it’s perfect for me. His style clashes perfectly with mine and he’s going to be running into shots all night long.

“It’s a great feeling to be fighting in the main event on Showtime Championship Boxing for the first time. I’m excited and it’s just my time. After this fight, it’s on to bigger and better and I just can’t wait.

“Whatever he brings, I’m going to be ready for it. We don’t look at anybody as a stepping stone but this fight is going to take me to the next level. I can do a bunch of different things and my opponent doesn’t know how I’m going to come out. He just needs to know I’m ready and this is the hardest I’ve ever worked to get ready for a fight. I’ve been waiting for this opportunity for a very long time and I finally got a guy with a name and now it’s my time to shine and show the world my talent and show them that I’m not to be played with. I’m a dangerous man and they will see on April 10th.

“Every time I fight, they always say it’s a step-up. And then when I do what I do, they say I need to fight somebody better. At the end of the day, I just work for myself and my family and my team. I’m just focused on getting better each and every fight and I just work harder and harder every time so I can perform to the best of my ability and show the world that with each fight, I’m getting better, stronger and smarter.

“Beating Lipinets would take my career to the next level because he’s a former world champion at 140 pounds and he fought a lot of top guys. Making a statement against him is definitely a whole different level and it would boost me all the way up the rankings. I feel like after this fight, it’s on to bigger and better things. But we have business to handle on April 10 first.

“I don’t watch tape of the guys that I fight. I leave that up to my team because you never know how a guy is going to come out. Just because he did one thing against one opponent doesn’t mean he’s going to do the same thing with me. You have to prepare yourself all the way around and that’s what we do. I do know that he’s a great fighter, but it’s my time.

“Not looking past Sergey Lipinets, but with me doing my thing on April 10, I definitely feel like I’ll be ready for a world title shot by the end of the year. You know me. I’ll fight anybody and everybody. All they have to do is call. I’m hungry and I’ve been waiting for these types of fights. All I want to do is fight, be great, be a legend and a multi-division world champion.

“Everybody has different roads to a world title. Mine is taking a little longer than some others but I don’t mind it. I’m still learning. I’m young and I’m getting better each and every fight. I’m fine with the way that my career is progressing. Everything is happening for a reason. It’s perfect timing for this opportunity.”

SERGEY LIPINETS

“I’m a hard worker and I’m not afraid of anything. Nothing is going to scare me when I step into a ring. This ‘stepping stone’ is going to be too high for Ennis. I’m going to go in there and give him a hell of a night.

“If you look at my career and how I went through the ranks, I did something that a lot of people didn’t. I was a world champion 13 fights in. I like to fight and I like challenges. Ennis is the challenge this time. I’ve never hesitated or thought twice about taking a fight. I wanted to fight the best, and Ennis is one of the best out there right now. If I win, it will further prove that I belong where I am right now.

“I’m learning with every fight that I have. The question is how to correct the mistakes you make. Before I even knew I would fight Ennis, I was already back in the gym working on correcting little mistakes from the Custio Clayton fight.

“We’ve watched Ennis’ fights and this is a guy who’s not going to shy away or just stay on the outside. He’s going to come to fight and that appealed to me. That’s what I like and I’m looking forward to it.

“Ultimately, we all want those world titles. This is the kind of fight where the winner can’t be denied anymore. Ennis is not a boogeyman, he’s another fighter with two hands and two feet.

“I’m sure that he’s training hard for 12 rounds. We’re both going to be ready. Ultimately, our main goal is to put on a great show. May the best man win. It’s hard to predict how he’ll do in the later rounds, because it does look like he belongs with me at the top of the division. We’ll find out on April 10.

“I’m not thinking about anything that’s going to happen after this fight. I’m just worried about April 10. I have to deal with Jaron Ennis, and that’s not an easy task. After this fight, we can have that conversation about the other big names at welterweight.

“It may look like I’m a fighter who’s standing there in front of you, but I’m good at working hard, getting into my opponent’s chest and doing what I do best, which is throw punches from every possible angle. The punch that is really going to hurt you, is the one that you don’t see coming.

“It’s been a hard training camp because it’s probably easier for Ennis to get a sparring partner who is like me, than it is for me to get someone like Ennis. We’ve had to get a lot of fighters in here and it’s made it a hard camp. I’ve been digging real deep every day in training.”

TOM BROWN, President of TGB Promotions

“This is really is a fantastic main event. Ennis is one of boxing’s fastest-rising talents. He has the kind of style that just makes great fights. He has tremendous hand speed, punching power and he can switch styles from orthodox to southpaw, which makes it very hard for opponents to prepare for him.

“Ennis is taking a big step up in class against the former world champion Sergey Lipinets, who always comes to fight. He’s a seasoned aggressive fighter with serious punching power. In his only loss, a world title defense against Mikey Garcia, you could see that he landed the bigger, harder, more punishing shots and you could tell by looking at Garcia’s face after the fight.

“Lipinets can make it a tough night for anyone. This fight will show us if Ennis has the goods to be the next big thing at 147 pounds.

“This is a tremendous tripleheader starting out with a great world title fight. With Eimantas Stanionis stepping up against Thomas Dulorme in the co-main event, we see another rising star in the division. I think that Stanionis and Ennis might be the two guys a notch ahead of the other rising contenders at 147-pounds. Plus the all-action main event, it’s going to be great for the fans watching on Showtime.”

STEPHEN ESPINOZA, President, Sports and Event Programming, Showtime Networks Inc.

“We are really excited about this card and the whole weekend. For Showtime, it is a big fight weekend. Friday night, we’ve got the launch of our Light Heavyweight World Grand Prix from Bellator MMA as part of our three consecutive weeks of Bellator MMA on Showtime . I can’t think of a better way to top this whole weekend off with two of the most exciting fighters in the 147-pound division. Two of the most fan-friendly fighters in the division. This is guaranteed to be an exciting fight.

“We have three intriguing, meaningful fights on Saturday April 10th. We open with a world title fight and that shows the depth of this card and the quality of the card. You can look across the networks and all the various platforms, you don’t see many cards with a world title fight three fights down. It should be an all-action world title fight with Jerwin Ancajas and Jonathan Rodriguez. In the co-feature, fast-rising young welterweight Eimantas Stanionis against the veteran Thomas Dulorme. Given those two styles, I’d expect all action.

“The main event is one of the premier fights on the schedule this spring. It’s something that fight fans have been looking forward to ever since it was first identified as a possibility. We’ve seen Sergey Lipinets on Showtime several times. He is an aggressive fighter. You know exactly what he does when he gets in the ring. He’s all-action and he’s a big puncher. Jaron is the same type of fighter. This has the makings of a real war. Two highly accomplished guys in the welterweight division. We may just be seeing who is the future in the welterweight division when we’re done with this card.

“One of the things that we enjoy most at Showtime is helping build a fighter. Our audience likes it when they can see guys over and over again and watch as a fighter matures. That’s what happened with Sergey. We had him on for one of his early fights and we saw him all the way through a world title and big fights. With ‘Boots’, we’ve been proud to work with him as he grows from a young fighter and highly regarded prospect on ShoBox to now seeing another big step in his career as a main event. If he’s able to win, his credentials put him up at the top of the division. The same goes for Sergey. The winner of this fight deserves a high-level fight. These are two guys at the top of the division, two of the most exciting guys in the division and whoever comes out on top is due for a world title shot in the very near future.”