Teofimo Lopez says Jaron 'Boots' Ennis won't fight him for the welterweight titles. Lopez, who holds the WBO super-lightweight belt, wanted to move up and challenge Ennis for his IBF, WBA, and Ring Magazine straps at 147 pounds.
Lopez looked sharp in his last fight. He beat the undefeated Arnold Barboza by unanimous decision in Times Square, New York earlier this month. The judges scored it 116-112, 116-112, and 118-110 in his favor. This win came after two less impressive defenses against Steve Claggett and Jamaine Ortiz.
The former unified lightweight champ seemed ready for a big challenge. He set his sights on Ennis, who recently unified the welterweight division by stopping Eimantas Stanionis in six rounds.
But Lopez says Ennis turned down the offer. He posted on social media:
"Jaron 'Boots' Ennis has declined the fight against I for his WBA, IBF, Ring Magazine championship titles at the Welterweight division, aka 147lbs."
Lopez has moved up in weight before. After losing his lightweight belts to George Kambosos Jr, he jumped to super-lightweight (140 pounds) and won the WBO title from Josh Taylor in June 2023.
Ennis got the IBF belt when Terence Crawford moved up and vacated it. He's now added the WBA and Ring titles. His next move could be to unify further. He might face WBO champ Brian Norman Jr or wait for the winner of the WBC title fight between Mario Barrios and Manny Pacquiao in July.
There's also talk of Ennis moving up to 154 pounds. His promoter Eddie Hearn has hinted that making the 147-pound limit might be getting tough for the undefeated fighter.
