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The rising welterweight star proves he's more than ready for the division's elite with a dazzling, dominant performance Saturday night on SHOWTIME. Rising welterweight star Jaron “Boots” Ennis retained his Interim IBF Welterweight Title with a 10th-round TKO over tough-as-nails 147-pound contender Roiman Villa in the SHOWTIME main event Saturday night from Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, N.J. in an event presented by Premier Boxing Champions. My performance was good, I could have listened to my corner a little more,” said Ennis, who wobbled Villa several times throughout the bout before recording the stoppage 1:27 into the 10th round. “My dad wanted me to throw more body shots and give him more angles and not stand in front of him. I was getting hit with shots I wasn’t supposed to get hit with. I appreciate Villa taking this fight. Hats off to him and his family. I appreciate him for coming in and being a warrior.” In front of a friendly crowd not far from his Philadelphia home, Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) stayed in control early and picked his spots against the game Villa (26-2, 24 KOs), dominating early with his jabs before brutalizing Villa with power punches across the middle rounds. After a closely fought rounds three through five, Ennis hurt Villa for the first time in round six, staggering him badly with an overhand right. Villa showed the fortitude that has earned him a high spot in the welterweight rankings and continued throwing to survive the round. However he appeared to lose some of his early power after that shot. “I was breaking him down and I came out victorious,” said Ennis. “I knew he was a tough kid. I just had to be smart and take my time and keep touching and touching and eventually I was going to get him. I was setting him up.” Ennis continued to hammer away in rounds seven and eight, sending blood flying from Villa with numerous snapping shots. Villa received long looks from the ringside doctor after rounds seven and eight but continued to soldier forward in hopes of changing the tide. After a slower paced round nine, Ennis closed the fight in style early in round 10, landing a vicious one-two that put Villa tumbling to the mat as referee David Fields stopped it. “I hit him with a big left hand and I knew he was going down,” said Ennis. “So I was waiting for the left shot and I threw a hook and I knew he was going so I just threw one more and that was it. I knew they were going to stop it.” Ennis, who dominated the CompuBox stats, including a 164 to 57 edge in power shots, stated his intention to continue to stay active against the top fighters in the star-studded welterweight division. “I want the winner of Errol Spence and Terence Crawford,” said Ennis. “Let’s make it happen. I’ll take on Eimantas Stanionis in a heartbeat. I want to get into the ring one more time before the end of the year to make it three fights. Stanionis, Keith Thurman, Yordenis Ugas, all the top guys out there. Let’s make these fights happen.”
