Boots - Xander
Credit: DAZN
Jaron "Boots" Ennis improved to 36-0 and won the WBA and WBO super welterweight championship when he scored a seventh-round TKO victory over Xander Zayas (23-1). The fight was competitive even though Ennis put on an impressive performance.
The win allowed Ennis to win titles in his second weight class. There were some tense moments for Ennis as Zayas came through like a lion in the third.
Ennis dropped Zayas in the first round as his speed and power overwhelmed the young Puerto Rican in the opening frame.
Zayas got out of the round, collected himself and came back in the third to badly hurt Ennis. A one-two combination had Ennis rocked. Zayas tried to get the finish, but Ennis had enough wherewithal to survive and keep his game opponent at bay.
Things looked great for Zayas through the fourth as well as he had appeared to take the momentum. However, Boots was back on his square in the fifth and he dropped Zayas with a hellacious right uppercut square on the chin. Zayas didn't make it to his feet until the count of nine.
He survived the round and did well enough in the sixth to push things to the seventh. However, another barrage of punches on the ropes sent Zayas to a knee and his corner stopped the fight.
The pay-per-view undercard delivered as well, headlined by a dominant fourth-round stoppage from rising star Emiliano Vargas over Bryce Mills.
It was a wise decision. Zayas is 23 years old and he has his entire career ahead of him. As it was in the seventh frame, Zayas was in a fight he couldn't win anymore.
It was one of the most appropriate corner stoppages I've seen in the sport in a long time, all things considered.
Zayas will likely move up to 160 pounds as the weight cut to get to 154 has been taxing. He's a naturally large young man still growing into his frame. It'll be interesting to see what he does next.
As for Ennis, he shined on the biggest stage. Headlining a pay-per-view card on DAZN in Brooklyn, Ennis showed he is among the elite talents and performers in boxing. He's now set up to try to unify the titles by chasing IBF champion Josh Kelly or WBC titleholder Sebastian Fundora.
Promoter Eddie Hearn went even further, telling DAZN that Ennis looks like the future pound-for-pound No. 1 in the sport. With Fundora holding the WBC belt and Kelly the IBF, a run at undisputed status at 154 pounds is the obvious next chapter.
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