Being ranked in the top 10 isn\u2019t what it\u2019s cracked up to be in any weight class, especially at 154. If you\u2019re not ranked in the top five at 154, you\u2019re flawed. Even being ranked in the top five doesn\u2019t mean much. Josh Kelly and Jorge Garcia are both top 5 and journeymen-level fighters, talent-wise. Uisma Lima\u2019s one-sided defeat against Aaron McKenna in 2022 showed his limitations as a fighter.<\/p>\n
Eddie\u2019s Search for 147-lb Opponents<\/p>\n
\u201cWe could have chosen people that didn\u2019t even come to win. We offered eight fighters the fight,\u201d said Hearn. \u201cEveryone talks about wanting it [Rashidi Ellis, Abel Ramos, and Josh Kelly], and they just priced themselves so wildly out of the fight because they know how good \u2018Boots\u2019 is.\u201d<\/p>\n
Hearn was combing the 147-lb ranks for opponents for Ennis to get him acclimated to 154, and he wasn\u2019t aiming high. Welterweight Abel Ramirez has six losses on his resume. Ellis is another marginal 147-lb fighter. The real question is, why was Hearn scouring the welterweight division in search of opponents to help prepare \u2018Boots\u2019 for 154? The only reason you\u2019d pick them is to make Ennis look better than he is.<\/p>\n
\u201cI wanted someone at 154 that is a true 154, not a 147-pounder that\u2019s moved up, who will come to win, that is really, really tough. And that is Lima,\u201d said Hearn. \u201cHe\u2019s a good fighter. It\u2019s not an easy fight. When you talk about the other fighters that we were talking to. Ellis, Lima beats him. [Brian] Mendoza, Lima beats him.\u201d<\/p>\n
Mendoza has lost two out of his last three fights. So, it\u2019s not a big deal that Lima would beat him. I don\u2019t know that he would. As bad as Aaron McKenna defeated Lima, Mendoza would as well.<\/p>\n
The Fighters Hearn Should Have Picked<\/p>\n
Jesus Ramos Jr
\nSerhii Bohachuk
\nIsrail Madrimov
\nCharles Conwell
\nErickson Lubin
\nYoenis Tellez
\nTim Tszyu<\/p>\n
Lima\u2019s Short-Notice Loss to McKenna<\/p>\n
\u201cThis is a guy [Lima] that has lost once on four days\u2019 notice or five days\u2019 notice [to Aaron McKenna by a one-sided 10-round unanimous decision],\u201d said Hearn about Lima. \u201cThis is a tough young man that is coming with plenty of spirit, and I need someone to test \u2018Boots\u2019 at 154 before we dive into all of the big fights.\u201d<\/p>\n
The reason Lima lost to McKenna wasn\u2019t due to his taking the fight on five days\u2019 notice. He was beaten because he was outclassed from the get-go. Hearn is being disengenuous when he blames Uisma\u2019s defeat against McKenna on his taking the fight on short notice. You could see from the first round that he was over his head. Lima was too slow, and McKenna wasn\u2019t falling for his simplistic feints.<\/p>\n
\u201cYeah, of course,\u201d said Hearn when asked if Lima is being used to prepare Ennis for Vergil Ortiz Jr. \u201cThere\u2019s nothing wrong with a young guy [28-years-old] like \u2018Boots\u2019 having a fight at 154 against a guy that is top 10 in the world. But people want to moan. Let\u2019s see. The proof is in the pudding.<\/p>\n
\u201cI bet you Lima gives us a great fight on October 11th, and he will come full of energy and full of desire, and that\u2019s what we want,\u201d said Hearn.<\/p>\n
A Predictable Mismatch for \u2018Boots\u2019 Ennis<\/p>\n
Predictably, this is going to be a complete whitewash with Ennis dominating Lima. However, instead of Hearn revisiting his earlier comments by admitting that he was wrong by overselling Uisma Lima, he\u2019ll bang on about how great Ennis is. He won\u2019t admit that he got it wrong by selecting<\/p>\n
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