‘I just love beating people up and putting on shows’: ‘Boots’ Ennis is latest champ in Philly’s rich boxing tradition

About a week after notching the st knockout of his undefeated professional career earlier this month in front of a home crowd Germantown s Jaron Boots Ennis was in a familiar calm and peaceful position I m feeling great after the triumph he explained with a chuckle First-round knockout you know not sore or anything no injury so feeling great Ennis whose nickname Boots comes from people in the gym mishearing his father calling him by his childhood nickname Boops won the fight emphatically in just seconds He dropped his opponent Uisma Lima twice before the referee stepped in to save the cornered and overwhelmed Angolan boxer It was his first technical knockout in his three bouts at the Xfinity Mobile Arena He described the feeling of the success in front of a Philly crowd as tremendous and surreal It s just a whole different vibe aura he reported of the Philly crowd Our fans is crazy My supporters is crazy I love it Ennis was a heavy favorite against Lima - KOs at Xfinity Mobile Arena but it did have certain risks He stepped up a weight class for the fight moving up to the -pound junior middleweight division from the -pound welterweight division where held two belts The win secured him a new belt the WBA Interim super welterweight title In a city known for boxing greats like Joe Frazier and Bernard Hopkins and sure the fictional Rocky Balboa Ennis is well on his way to joining that stratum of boxing royalty When solicited about where he is on that path the -year-old announced he s just getting started I feel like when it s all reported and done my legacy will be up there with those names as well he reported Professional boxer and Philly-native Jaron Boots Ennis at WHYY studios on October Kimberly Paynter WHYY Put on where I m from Ennis grew up in Germantown s Brickyard neighborhood and trained in his father Derek Bozy Ennis gym in the basement of the Holy Temple of Deliverance church Despite his father and two older brothers Derek Pooh and Farrah Quiet Storm being in the profession Ennis mentioned boxing was never forced on him by his family Derek Sr was like I m going to show you how to fight and you do whatever you want to do with it Ennis recalled He demonstrated me how to fight and then I just fell in love with it Boxing is very fun for me and something I love to do I just love beating people up and putting on shows On his list of favorite boxers is after his dad and brothers who round out the Philly contingent Floyd Mayweather Jr Roy Jones Jr Pernell Whitaker Sugar Ray Leonard and Mike Tyson Being back in Philly to fight gave Ennis the chance to do several society work including hosting an event at South Philly s Ralph Brooks Park the weekend before the fight I ll still try to talk to the kids and give them specific words of wisdom words of advice and just try to be a great example and give the blueprint to the kids he revealed Let them know that I came from where y all came from Like you can make a way out of anything just believing in yourself Professional boxer and Philly-native Jaron Boots Ennis at WHYY studios on October Kimberly Paynter WHYY Ennis also did a youth training event at the Lighthouse s area center in North Philly and fights with the nonprofit s logo on his shorts He explained the Inquirer that he plans to build a gym in Germantown not far from where his late grandmother lived Germantown is me basically I put on for where I m from and that s my whole thing put on where I m from you know give back to my region as much as attainable Aside from the area events and the fight Ennis revealed he spent the time before and after the fight back home relaxing chilling with the fam Keep knocking them down Since his success Ennis and his promotion company are lining up a fight against Vergil Ortiz who s also an undefeated super welterweight champion Ortiz first has to defend his belt against Erickson Lubin in Fort Worth Texas on Nov Ennis revealed he s trying to be at that bout and should things go well for Ortiz his promotion group led by Matchroom Sports Eddie Hearn will work on lining up the highly anticipated matchup in The fight likely will not be in Philly With that and a couple more wins Hearn and his group can see Ennis moving up a couple more weight classes to face in current times s best pound-for-pound fighter in the world undisputed super middleweight champion Terence Bud Crawford Ennis got to spar against Crawford s last opponent Mexican boxing superstar Canelo lvarez as part of both of their preparations for their respective fall bouts Right now Crawford s kind of like the cash cow so he could fight whoever he wants Ennis explained My goal is definitely to beat all these guys and whoever they put in front of me to keep knocking them down The post I just love beating people up and putting on shows Boots Ennis is latest champ in Philly s rich boxing tradition appeared first on Billy Penn at WHYY