Josh Kelly vs. Jaron Ennis | Unification - Who wins?

[Ruthless-RKO]

ENNIS: TOUGHEST FIGHT AT 154 POUNDS IS JOSH KELLY

Sebastian Fundora might look like the toughest matchup for anybody at 154 pounds, but not according to Jaron Ennis.

Ennis, the WBA and WBO junior middleweight champion, spoke live on TNT during the coverage of Andy Ruiz's unanimous decision defeat to Damian Knyba Friday night in Newark at the Prudential Center.

“The toughest fight I would say is Josh Kelly,” Ennis told Shawn Porter, Tim Bradley and Terence Crawford. “To me, he can box, he can move, this is what everybody saying I can't do. I’ll show y’all. Can’t nobody in this boxing game mess with me. These guys can’t do what I do.”

Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs), The Ring’s No. 3 ranked junior middleweight and WBC belt holder, is set to defend his crown against Ermal Hadribeaj, his mandatory challenger, on October 17 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas. His last outing was a stoppage victory over former welterweight champion Keith Thurman in March.

With the 6-foot-5 Fundora busy taking care of his obligations, Ennis instructed his promoter Eddie Hearn to secure the Kelly fight.

Ranked No. 6 by The Ring, the IBF titlist is coming off a lackluster win over Caoimhin Agyarko July 25 on the Anthony Joshua-Kristian Prenga undercard.

Kelly suffered a deep gash to his nose in that win and Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs, 1 NC) wasn’t sure if the “Pretty Boy” would have enough time to heal up from his wounds before facing him.

However, The Ring’s No. 1-ranked 154-pounder says negotiations have gone smoothly. As for when fans can expect to see it, Ennis, who stopped Xander Zayas to become a unified champion in June, hinted it could be soon.

“I think we’re going to see it for sure by the end of the year,” Ennis said. “My whole thing is becoming undisputed. I feel like you’re the man once you do that.”

[forcefraser]

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the one. Eddie Hearn has put this three-belt junior middleweight unification at "80%" for November or December, both men sit under the same Matchroom roof, and boxing — for once in its cursed, self-sabotaging life — looks like it might actually deliver the fight the people are screaming for.

Josh Kelly is the sweet-science savant, the Sunderland silk-and-switch merchant who was written off, buried and eulogised, only to rise from the ashes with a world title round his waist. He took the belt off the avoided man, Bakhram Murtazaliev, then gutted out a hard-fought unanimous decision over Caoimhin Agyarko in Jeddah with a nose that went through the wars and came out the other side needing a surgeon. Heart of a lion, feet of a ballerina, and the chin of a man who has already been to hell and bought the T-shirt. Across from him stands Jaron "Boots" Ennis, a once-in-a-generation freak of nature, a switch-hitting nightmare, the boogeyman nobody wanted at 147 and nobody wants at 154. He blasted out Xander Zayas in the seventh to claim the WBA and WBO straps, and he does the thing power punchers simply are not supposed to be able to do: glide in, load up, throw with ease and slide straight back out again. When he smells blood, the accelerator goes through the floor.

The opening four rounds will be chess, not checkers. Kelly on the back foot, feinting, spinning, painting on the canvas, banking rounds with pure movement and making the boogeyman look almost — almost — ordinary. The travelling support starts to believe. Then, somewhere around the fifth, the levels reveal themselves. Ennis switches southpaw and the entire geometry of the fight changes. Kelly is brilliant, but brilliance without a deterrent is just punishment on a delay, and he simply does not carry the pop to force the respect he needs. Boots does have the odd habit of switching off and letting opponents claw their way back into the argument, so Kelly will steal rounds out of sheer refusal to go quietly.

By the championship rounds it is the moment of truth. One right hand lands flush, the legs do that awful little dance, Adam Booth is on the apron with his heart in his mouth, and the tide becomes a tsunami. Kelly, warrior to the last, refuses to fold, but there is only so long you can hold back the ocean with your bare hands.
Ennis by late stoppage, somewhere around the tenth. Kelly proves he belongs on the biggest stage in the sport and leaves with his reputation enhanced and his face rearranged; Boots leaves one belt away from undisputed and another chapter added to the legend. The caveat, because boxing adores a punchline, is that Kelly has spent his entire career being underestimated, and that nose surgery in late July leaves him precious little runway before he starts absorbing Ennis's power in earnest. If he is not one hundred percent, this could be a great deal shorter than anybody wants. And if he is, well — stranger things have happened in the theatre of the unexpected.

If anyone even dares to challenge the above as AI created drivel, I will not even try to defend it

[JamesPhilips]

Ladies and gentlemen, this is the one. Eddie Hearn has put this three-belt junior middleweight unification at "80%" for November or December, both men sit under the same Matchroom roof, and boxing — for once in its cursed, self-sabotaging life — looks like it might actually deliver the fight the people are screaming for.

Josh Kelly is the sweet-science savant, the Sunderland silk-and-switch merchant who was written off, buried and eulogised, only to rise from the ashes with a world title round his waist. He took the belt off the avoided man, Bakhram Murtazaliev, then gutted out a hard-fought unanimous decision over Caoimhin Agyarko in Jeddah with a nose that went through the wars and came out the other side needing a surgeon. Heart of a lion, feet of a ballerina, and the chin of a man who has already been to hell and bought the T-shirt. Across from him stands Jaron "Boots" Ennis, a once-in-a-generation freak of nature, a switch-hitting nightmare, the boogeyman nobody wanted at 147 and nobody wants at 154. He blasted out Xander Zayas in the seventh to claim the WBA and WBO straps, and he does the thing power punchers simply are not supposed to be able to do: glide in, load up, throw with ease and slide straight back out again. When he smells blood, the accelerator goes through the floor.

The opening four rounds will be chess, not checkers. Kelly on the back foot, feinting, spinning, painting on the canvas, banking rounds with pure movement and making the boogeyman look almost — almost — ordinary. The travelling support starts to believe. Then, somewhere around the fifth, the levels reveal themselves. Ennis switches southpaw and the entire geometry of the fight changes. Kelly is brilliant, but brilliance without a deterrent is just punishment on a delay, and he simply does not carry the pop to force the respect he needs. Boots does have the odd habit of switching off and letting opponents claw their way back into the argument, so Kelly will steal rounds out of sheer refusal to go quietly.

By the championship rounds it is the moment of truth. One right hand lands flush, the legs do that awful little dance, Adam Booth is on the apron with his heart in his mouth, and the tide becomes a tsunami. Kelly, warrior to the last, refuses to fold, but there is only so long you can hold back the ocean with your bare hands.
Ennis by late stoppage, somewhere around the tenth. Kelly proves he belongs on the biggest stage in the sport and leaves with his reputation enhanced and his face rearranged; Boots leaves one belt away from undisputed and another chapter added to the legend. The caveat, because boxing adores a punchline, is that Kelly has spent his entire career being underestimated, and that nose surgery in late July leaves him precious little runway before he starts absorbing Ennis's power in earnest. If he is not one hundred percent, this could be a great deal shorter than anybody wants. And if he is, well — stranger things have happened in the theatre of the unexpected.

If anyone even dares to challenge the above as AI created drivel, I will not even try to defend it

lol in the chat gpt prompt did you put “write in the style of Adam Smith commentating"

[Ruthless-RKO]

NEWS: Per sources involved, the Boots Ennis-Josh Kelly 154 unification fight Matchroom is putting together will take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta though exact date is not set (late November/December). #boxing

[coneye]

Was impressed with Boots for a while , BUT like a lot i could'nt help but think can he go into deep waters when someone wants a shootout , and his last fight proved HELL YEH , So now i just think he will outbox , outfight , out everything , against Kelly

[Flump]

I can see Kelly outboxing him for a few rounds, but as the fight wears on, it will get tough for Josh. But, it's an interesting fight.

[JamesPhilips]

I can see Kelly outboxing him for a few rounds, but as the fight wears on, it will get tough for Josh. But, it's an interesting fight.

Kelly’s fragility is what worries me. Would love to see him win but I’m not very confident

[Taansend]

Kelly's going to beat him up & knock Boots out cold.

Easy win for the Mackam

[KiwiRider]

Josh is going to be a live dog in this fight.

He's a gutsy bugger, and on a good run of form. He showed the stamina to go 12 rounds without taking his foot off the gas like he used to.
I got no clue how he goes about this one though. But I'm still not writing him off.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jaron Ennis vs Josh Kelly unification planned for winter

Super welterweight champs “Boots” Ennis and Josh Kelly could meet either late this year or early next

Amid a lengthy interview with Pro Boxing Fans, Eddie Hearn confirmed that plans are in place for super welterweight champions Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Josh Kelly to meet in a three-belt unification in “either December or very early January.”

Kelly’s (19-1-1, 9 KO) trainer, Adam Booth, previously revealed to Tris Dixon that both sides had agreed to all terms and were just waiting on a date and venue. With both fighters competing under the Matchroom banner, there shouldn’t be too many moving parts to manage.

Ennis (36-0, 32 KO) took Uisma Lima behind the woodshed in his 154-pound debut last year, then outgunned a brave Xander Zayas to lift the WBO and WBA belts in June. Plans for a long-brewing grudge match with Vergil Ortiz Jr, which previously fell apart under stupid circumstances, don’t seem to have regained any steam after Ortiz’s team settled things with Golden Boy.

Hence, it’s belt season.

Kelly appeared to have peaked well below expectations after a 2021 drubbing at the hands of David Avanesyan, and though he did put together a solid winning streak in subsequent years, a narrow escape from Ishmael Davis suggested that the title remained well beyond his reach. To his credit, he gutted out an impressive upset of Bakhram Murtazaliev for the IBF belt in January before turning aside Caiominh Agyarko in his inaugural defense.

Ennis will be a heavy favorite, but respect to Kelly for taking the challenge. Let’s see if the stars (meaning PBC and DAZN) align enough to pit the winner of this against the winner of Sebastian Fundora vs Ermal Hadribeaj later this month.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Jaron 'Boots' Ennis and Josh Kelly set for unification 'in December or early January'

Eddie Hearn has confirmed a junior middleweight unification between Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Josh Kelly will take place in either December or January.

This follows a report from Tris Dixon’s Total Boxing confirming Kelly’s side had agreed to a bout with Ennis. Both Kelly and Ennis are signed under Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, who have made it no secret that Ennis-Kelly is a fight they wish to make.

The bout would pit Philadelphia’s Ennis, 36-0 (32 KOs), who recently won the WBA and WBO 154lbs titles with a seventh round finish of Xander Zayas in June, against the IBF beltholder in Kelly, who claimed the title with a 12-round majority decision win over Bakhram Murtazaliev in January.

England’s Kelly, 19-1-1 (9 KOs), has since made one defense of his belt, defeating Caoimhin Agyarko in July but suffering a nasty cut to his nose in the process.

Kelly’s trainer and manager Adam Booth has since confirmed that the cut will be healed for a contest later this year.

Hearn confirmed to BS and others that plans are in motion to match Kelly against Ennis in a three belt unification in the winter.

"It's either December or very early January,” said Hearn of a date for the contest. There have been previous reports that the fight will likely land in Atlanta, Georgia.

Hearn also spoke on Dixon’s report that both sides had agreed to the contest, revealing there were prior agreements for the fight.

“We have both fighters under contract [at Matchroom],” said Hearn. “So when we say terms agreed, ultimately in Josh Kelly's contract, I can activate a Boots fight. And in Boots' contract, I can activate a Josh Kelly fight.

"So that is effectively what we'll be doing for a unification fight up next.”

[MPW]

Josh is going to be a live dog in this fight.

He's a gutsy bugger, and on a good run of form. He showed the stamina to go 12 rounds without taking his foot off the gas like he used to.
I got no clue how he goes about this one though. But I'm still not writing him off.

Sure, Kelly had the stamina to go 12 rounds with light-hitting Agyarko, but he showed the physical effects of it in winning a close but clear UD. He fought the fight he needed to fight to earn a mildly debatable 12-round MD over heavy-handed Murtazaliev, who spent most of the match looking to land one big punch to change the tenor of the bout but never connected.

I don't believe either option will have long term success against Ennis. Kelly's not going to rough up and bully the American, nor is he going to be able to stay out of range and employ the occasional stick-and-move without getting countered.

I may be wrong - it happens often enough, unfortunately - I do think Kelly will have success in the opening rounds, but Ennis will wear him down over the middle frames before stopping the gutsy Englishman sometime after the halfway point.

[Ruthless-RKO]

Kelly’s Manager/Trainer Says Deal Done For Fight With Ennis

According to Adam Booth, Josh Kelly’s trainer and manager, the deal for a fight against Jaron “Boots” Ennis is signed, sealed and delivered.

There’s just one detail to confirm.

“I’m just waiting for a date from Eddie [Hearn], who says he’s waiting for a date from DAZN,” Booth told The Ring. “My understanding now is that it looks like early January.”

Although Team Kelly wants to speed up the process, the longer they wait, the more time Kelly has to heal and recover.

After successfully defending his IBF junior middleweight title via unanimous decision against Caoimhin Agyarko on July 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, Kelly (19-1-1, 9 KOs) underwent minor surgery to repair a broken nose. The 32-year-old Brit was expected to make a full recovery within eight weeks.

While a date continues to be sorted out, Booth will prep his fighter for arguably the most difficult assignment of his career.
Ennis, The Ring’s No. 1-ranked junior middleweight, looked spectacular in his last appearance.

The 29-year-old switch-hitter dismantled Xander Zayas on June 27 at Barclays Center in Brooklyn, dropping him three times before eventually stopping him in the seventh round. In doing so, Ennis snatched Zayas’ WBA and WBO 154-pound titles.

The Philadelphia native made it clear to Hearn, whose Matchroom Boxing promotes Ennis and Kelly, that he wants to collect more titles.

Sebastian Fundora, ranked No. 3 by The Ring, was Ennis’ preferred option. However, the 6-foot-6 southpaw will defend his WBC crown against Ermal Hadribeaj, his mandatory challenger, on October 17 at The Cosmopolitan of Las Vegas.

Booth, of course, knows that Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs, 1 NC) is attempting to win every world title at 154 pounds. But he also knows that Kelly has those same aspirations.

So, with both sides ready to get it on, Kelly’s longtime trainer is hoping they’ll get a clearer picture of when it will happen sooner rather than later.

“We’ve had our terms agreed for the ‘Boots’ fight for some time,” Booth said. “From what I’ve been told, he has agreed to his terms as well. It’s literally waiting for DAZN to give Matchroom a date. It’s frustrating, but that’s the nature of the business.”

[Ruthless-RKO]

Hearn aims to strike deal with Fundora to face Ennis-Kelly winner

It's a matter of when, not if, regarding a junior middleweight title unification clash between Jaron Ennis and Josh Kelly.

"I mean, we're virtually there to be honest with you," Matchroom Boxing chairman Eddie Hearn said.

"When you represent two guys, both guys essentially have that fight in their contract. So it's just kind of up to us to activate that with the broadcaster. On that, I'm not going to say too much, but we got massive plans with DAZN for that fight. So you're looking at the end of January, because we want the right arena and the right slot. As I said, there will be some pretty groundbreaking news for that fight. It's a huge unification fight."

Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs) is the WBA and WBO 154-pound champion, while Kelly (19-1-1, 9 KOs) holds the IBF crown.

Sebastian Fundora (24-1-1, 16 KOs), the WBC champion, owns the last remaining title in the division; The Ring title is vacant. Fundora has a fight scheduled against mandatory challenger Ermal Hadribeaj on October 17.

Should the -1800 betting favorite Fundora beat Hadribeaj as expected, "The Towering Inferno" should be going straight into an undisputed title fight against the Ennis-Kelly winner.

"We're also in talks at the moment with Luis DeCubas Jr. and PBC about the winner fighting Fundora straight off the bat," Hearn said. "We're looking to contract that almost in the same process, because that's really what both guys want.

"Boots wants to try and become undisputed as quickly as possible. Same with Kelly, who is rolling the dice in the big leagues for the big money. He feels like it's the time in his career to roll the dice like this ... There's no point hanging around. You know, roll the dice and gamble, and he'll be doing that against Boots. But you can be virtually guaranteed that you will see Boots against Kelly in a huge unification at the beginning of 2027."

[Ruthless-RKO]

Announced: Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis has signed a seven fight contract extension with Matchroom Boxing.

Matchroom also announced a multi-fight extension with Josh Kelly earlier today

[Ruthless-RKO]

Ennis, Kelly sign contract extensions with Matchroom Boxing

Move made ahead of planned three-belt 154-pound unification fight

Ahead of a formal announcement that Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Josh Kelly will meet in a three-belt junior middleweight unification fight, Matchroom Boxing this week took care of another piece of business first.

The company made separate announcements that it had signed each to a contract extension.

They have an agreement in place to meet to unify their titles in a DAZN headliner. The fight does not have a set date yet but is targeted for January or February and likely will take place at State Farm Arena in Atlanta, sources involved told Fight Freaks Unite.

Matchroom Boxing announced that the deal for WBO/WBA titleholder Ennis covers his next seven fights. Typically, Matchroom does not announce the number of bouts when it signs fighters.

“I am delighted that Jaron has signed a new deal with us,” Matchroom Boxing promoter Eddie Hearn said. “It’s an honor that this pound-for-pound star continues to trust us with his career, and the whole team intends to repay that faith by delivering what he wants; unification and undisputed fights and the biggest names and nights in the sport.”

Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs), 29, has had five fights so far since initially singing with Matchroom in April 2024. The company helped establish him as an attraction in his hometown of Philadelphia and also secured him a welterweight unification fight against Eimantas Stanionis in 2025 and a junior middleweight unification fight against Xander Zayas in June. Ennis stopped Zayas in the seventh round of a fight of the year contender and one of this year’s most significant fights.

“I’m excited for my extended partnership with Matchroom,” Ennis said. “Together we have aligned ourselves in all the right positions to get what I want, and that’s undisputed. The world is about to see why I’m different and why I’m the best fighter in the world. These guys aren’t on my level. They can’t do what I do. Road to undisputed. Road to the No. 1 pound-for-pound best fighter in the world.”

Now he will seek to unify with IBF titleholder Kelly, whose new deal was announced as a “multi-fight contract extension.”

“We are thrilled to extend Josh Kelly’s contract with Matchroom Boxing,” Hearn said. “He is an elite operator and one of the pound-for-pound best the U.K. has to offer. It is no secret that we have some huge plans ahead for Josh in 2027, where he will be aiming to add more world titles to his collection.”

Kelly (19-1, 9 KOs), 32, a 2016 British Olympian, claimed the belt by majority decision over Bakhram Murtazaliev in January and made his first defense on July 25 in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia, where he won a competitive unanimous decision against Caoimhin Agyarko. However, Kelly, who called out Ennis after the fight, suffered facial cuts and a severe gash across his nose, that led to his taking off the rest of the year.

“I’m world champion and I am very excited about the future with Matchroom Boxing,” Kelly said. “Now I only want the biggest fights in the division. Unifications. Bring it on.”