Roy Jones Jr. believes Jaron “Boots” Ennis would be fully alert for a potential fight with Vergil Ortiz Jr., even if the matchup would be far from easy.
Ennis became WBA and WBO super welterweight champion last weekend after stopping Xander Zayas in the seventh round at Barclays Center in New York. The win moved him to 36-0 (32 KOs) and made him a unified champion in a second weight division.
Despite the result, Ennis had to survive difficult moments, especially in the third round, when Zayas landed several heavy shots and briefly appeared to trouble him.
Jones believes that kind of lapse would be less likely against Ortiz because of the danger the unbeaten Texan brings.
“Put Vergil Ortiz in front of him and watch he don’t go to sleep,” Jones said. “He might not win, but it won’t be because he went to sleep.”
The former pound-for-pound star said Ortiz represents a higher-level threat with the kind of résumé and punching power that would force Ennis to stay focused every second.
“That’s a guy with a better background, with a better past, with a better track record,” Jones said. “A guy that he knows if you go to sleep, he gonna beat you.”
Ortiz currently holds the WBC interim super welterweight title and remains one of the most dangerous possible opponents for Ennis at 154lbs.
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