Rising welterweight star Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis 26-0 (24) faces his first real step-up in class when he faces former IBF junior welterweight champion Sergey Lipinets 16-1-1 (12) at the Mohegan Sun Arena in Uncasville, Connecticut on Saturday night.
The 23-year-old Philly prospect managed to stay busy last year with three fights, knocking out Bakhtiyar Eyubov in four and Juan Carlos Abreu in six before being forced to settle for a no-contest against Chris van Heerden after an accidental clash of heads in December.
Russian Lipinets, 32, won the vacant IBF 140-pound belt against Akihito Kondo by decision in Brooklyn in November 2017 before losing the strap in his first title defence against Mikey Garcia on points in San Antonio four months later.
In his last fight he had to settle for a majority draw against undefeated Canadian Custio Clayton in Uncasville in October.
Ennis, one of the hottest young prospects in boxing, insists he is more than ready for whatever Lipinets brings to the table.
“Whatever he brings, I’m going to be ready for it,” Ennis said. “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 10.
“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.”
The card will be broadcast in the US on Showtime.
