Saturday night at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis continued his ascension up the welterweight ranks with his first-round knockout of former title challenger, Thomas Dulorme. The bout was the co-main event of the Jamal James-Radzhab Butaev card (more on the main event later).
The twenty-four-year-old Philadelphian wasted no time blitzing Dulorme. Only a minute into the opening round, Ennis’ right hand caught a stooping Dulorme around his ear and neck area, sending him to the canvas. Dulorme (25-6-1, 16 KOs) took the full eight-count before rising unsteadily to his feet.
From there on Ennis took full advantage of the hurt Puerto Rican fighter. Ennis went in for the kill and was caught flush by a Dulorme right hook to the head. However, Ennis would not be denied recording his eleventh career first-round finish, sending a three-punch combo that ended with a straight left to Dulorme’s chin and putting him back on the mat. This time he would not beat the count and ended the bout at the 1:49 mark of the first.
Ennis remains undefeated at 29-0 with 26 knockouts.
After the fight when asked what is next and who would he like to face. “I’ve been ready for a world title two years ago.”, he said. Mentioning the big names in the welterweight division such as champions: Terence Crawford, Yordenis Ugas, and Errol Spence Jr., as well as contenders like Shawn Porter and Keith Thurman. As for his top target, Ennis added, “I’m ranked No. 3 in the IBF, so Errol Spence Jr. is who I want next.”
Showtime Championship Boxing Main Event: James vs Butaev
The main event of the card featured WBA welterweight titlist, Jamal ‘Shango’ James defending against Radzhab Butaev. The fight was the first time the Minneapolis native was defending his title since winning it over fourteen months ago against Thomas Dulorme.
During the first and second rounds, James was able to control the Butaev by using his jab to keep him in range. The third round found both men firing off good exchanges with James getting the better of his opponent. The fourth round saw more of the same but this time, Butaev was persistent with attacks to James’ body and applying pressure. Butaev was finding more success when he switches stances between orthodox and southpaw. He acknowledged that this was part of the gameplan and a focus in training camp. “We worked hard on switching up and did it in sparring and it worked so we kept doing it.”, he said.
The Russian kept the pace in the fifth but received a questionable point deduction due to hitting James while his back was turned. James (27-2, 12 KOs) slowly began to tire out, but he wouldn’t concede and kept fighting. Butaev wasn’t giving an inch either and continued to pressure James and dig to his body. Despite James putting up a fight, referee Celestino Ruiz had seen enough. After watching James eat a couple of good shots in the ninth round, he waved it off and called an end to the bout at the 2:12 mark of the ninth.
After the fight, Butaev (14-0, 11 KOs) gave James a lot of credit for having a huge heart, but he felt the fight was ended properly. “I felt it could have ended a lot worse.”, he expressed. “I thought it was stopped at the right time.”
ESPN+ Main Event: Zepeda vs Vargas
Also Saturday night, at New York’s Madison Square Garden Theater, Jose ‘Chon’ Zepeda knocked out Josue ‘The Prodigy’ Vargas in the opening round of the bout of their super lightweight fight. The build-up was tense as the fighters and their respective camps got into a dust-up at the weigh-in the night before. Zepeda (35-2, 27 KOs) came out blazing as he connected a counter left squarely on Vargas’ (19-2, 9 KOs) jaw. Vargas went down and struggled mightily to get up, never fully recovering from the knockdown. As soon as Vargas got up, Zepeda smelled blood and quickly continued the attack. Eventually, slumping him into a corner with a barrage of punches before referee David Fields waved the fight off.
With the win, Zepeda retained his WBC Silver super lightweight title and is looking ahead to a possible title shot with the undisputed champion, Josh Taylor, in the future. Scotland’s Taylor (18-0, 13 KOs) currently has a fight scheduled with the number one contender, Jack Catterall, for his IBF belt in February.
