Jaron Ennis needed less than two minutes to remind boxing why he\u2019s long been considered the sport\u2019s next big thing. The 28-year-old Philadelphian nicknamed Boots flattened Uisma Lima on Saturday night at the Xfinity Mobile Arena, marking an explosive debut at 154lb and setting the stage for the far bigger challenges that await him next year.<\/p>\n
Ennis dropped the sturdy but unheralded Lima three times in 118 seconds, igniting the rollicking hometown crowd squarely in his corner. A concussive right uppercut started the unraveling, followed by two blistering flurries that left his Portugal-based Angolan opponent unable to continue. Referee Shawn Clark waved it off at 1:58 of the opening round, giving the unbeaten Ennis his 35th professional win, his 31st inside the distance, and the kind of statement that reverberates through the sport even in a mismatch. \u201cThe more I move up, the stronger I get,\u201d Ennis said afterward. \u201cThis is my division now. I sent a big message tonight.\u201d<\/p>\n
That message was aimed squarely at Vergil Ortiz Jr. The undefeated Texan, who holds the WBC\u2019s interim junior middleweight title, is expected to meet Ennis in early 2026 in what promoter Eddie Hearn called \u201cone of the best fights to be made in American boxing\u201d. The Matchroom Boxing<\/a> supremo confirmed that an agreement with Golden Boy Promotions is already in place, pending Ortiz\u2019s November title defense against Erickson Lubin.<\/p>\n