Eddie Hearn is backing Jaron “Boots” Ennis to put on a masterclass and prove his pound-for-pound credentials when he fights Puerto Rico’s unified WBO/WBA junior middleweight champion, Xander Zayas, at The Barclay Centre in Brooklyn, New York on Saturday. The fight will be streamed live on on DAZN PPV. The former Ring, IBF, WBA welterweight champion is widely respected as one of the most technical adept and well-rounded fighters in boxing but Matchroom chairman, Hearn, believes that the eagerly awaited fight gives The Ring’s No. 5-ranked junior middleweight, Ennis, the ideal opportunity to announce himself as a true superstar of the sport. “I don’t want to put too much pressure on “Boots” Ennis, but I’m going to do it anyway because he’s that special. This kid is the pound-for-pound No. 1 in the waiting,” Hearn told talkSPORT. “He is the most phenomenal fighter I’ve ever seen. I’ve ever seen in my entire career. He’s that good and he will put on a performance on Saturday that will announce him as the new mega star of boxing.” Whilst Ennis’ CV is undoubtedly impressive in the achievement category, it may currently lack the quality of opposition and associated star power to move him ahead of Naoya Inoue (No. 1) and Oleksandr Usyk (No. 2) in the pound-for-pound standings. Hearn believes that it is the Philadelphian’s seek and destroy mentality that separates him from his contemporaries. Judging by the evidence of his first round blow out of Uisma Lima in October, moving up to 154 pounds should allow Ennis to fight to his full potential and if the 29-year-old can hunt down and stop The Ring’s No. 3-ranked 154-pounder, Zayas, it will add weight to Hearn’s claims and make him a much bigger part of any pound-for-pound conversations. “”Boots” is really special,” Hearn said. “On that pound-for-pound list, you get fighters that have got extraordinary talent and I don’t want to be critical, but it’s Shakur Stevenson. It’s Devin Haney. They fight one way. They’ve got an unbelievable IQ where they go in and it’s a little bit safety first. “I respect that because that’s the art of boxing. “Boots” is the opposite. He can do all that but he walks you down. He fights you in the pocket and he’s in there to take you out as soon as possible.”
