Conor Penn says no one knows who IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis is in England because he doesn't have a “character”.
(Credit: Mark Robinson/Matchroom)
Highly rated, unbeaten Ben (23-0, 14 KOs) has stated that he does not look at Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) when “big names” are mentioned because he is well known in the UK.
Ennis lacks charisma
Penn, 28, rates Potts as an elite fighter at 147 years old, second only to Terence Crawford, but his lack of charisma and personality makes him unworthy of a fight.
It's not desirable. Jaron's promoter, Eddie Hearn, apparently did just that I got a heavy burden Trying to sell the Philadelphia native with his boring, flat, uninspiring personality. Hearn can't do it alone. He needs to build his brand, but that's not happening.
Ennis doesn't seem to realize that boxing is an entertainment business, and you have to be able to interest people outside the ring. Look at Tyson Fury. He's not very talented and has a barren resume, but he has achieved absolute wealth due to his clown persona.
Boots has come into his own; Otherwise, he doesn't deserve to be kept by Hearn in his Matchroom team. Eddie is excellent at hyping up fighters, but he can't do that if they're only physically present while promoting their fights.
Ennis doesn't do the PR work he needs to do outside of the ring, like giving interviews, posting on social media, and creating personas. He needs a gimmick to sell himself to the audience, but nothing has been done to create one.
Yaron's missed opportunity
Boots recently turned down a huge fight offer to move to 154 to challenge Vergil Ortiz Jr. for his interim WBC title at the Riyadh Season event organized by His Excellency Turki Al-Sheikh on February 22. This is the worst career move Ennis could make.
“Who knows who Boots is? I was walking around Philly and Miami. Everyone knows the name Ben in the States. Ennis comes to England, nobody knows who he is,” Connor Ben told Fight Hub TV, revealing why he's not interested in fighting Jaron. “Boots” Ennis.
“If you say 'big names,' I don't look at him. I look at Pacquiao, Broner, Kel Brook and Khan, and they're people who are invested in their characters. There's not a lot of that (with shoes),” Penn said.
Conor is ranked #2 WBA, #2 WBC, #4 IBF, and #7 WBO at welterweight. Penn says he expects to challenge WBC 147lb champion Mario Barrios (29-2-1, 15 KOs) in February 2025. This is a winnable fight for Penn.
If he can get his hands on the WBC belt, there is a lot of money to be made in defending the title against veterans Manny Pacquiao, Adrien Broner, Amir Khan, and Kyle Brook. These are fights that would sell in the UK, and His Excellency Turki Al-Sheikh may be interested in organizing some of them in Riyadh.
Barrios is coming off a 12-round draw against Abel Ramos (28-6-3, 22 KOs) on June 15 on the undercard of Jake Paul vs. Mike Tyson at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, Texas.
