Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis: ‘It means everything to be a Philadelphia fighter. We always find a way to win’

It was a chilly spring evening in North Philadelphia when Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis stepped into the ring at the legendary Blue Horizon boxing club. The scoreboard glowed bright red, 85-80, in Ennis’s favor, as he danced with a younger opponent, his fists a blur. His corner men were on their feet, shouting encouragement as Ennis delivered a crushing combination that left his opponent stumbling. The crowd roared, a deafening din that signaled the arrival of a new boxing phenom.

For years, boxing’s chattering class has treated Ennis less like a champion than a prophecy. The next great one. The future pound-for-pound king. The fighter who one day would justify the steady hype that has followed him since he emerged as a teenager from Bozy’s Dungeon in North Philadelphia as one of the country’s top amateurs.

Now, 36 professional fights and 31 knockouts later, Ennis is finally being treated like the champion he is. Ahead of Saturday’s title unification bout with Xander Zayas at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center, Ennis has been celebrated as one of the world’s most gifted fighters while still being discussed as though his breakthrough lies ahead.

“It means everything to be a Philadelphia fighter,” Ennis said in a recent interview. “We always find a way to win, no matter what the odds are. It’s in our blood.”

On Saturday, Ennis will put his skills to the test against Zayas, a formidable opponent from Puerto Rico. The fight promises to be a classic showdown between two of the sport’s brightest stars. Ennis has won his last seven fights by knockout, averaging just over two minutes per victory.

The question on everyone’s mind is: can Zayas stop Ennis’s momentum? Or will the American continue to write his own history as one of the greatest boxers of all time?

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