Jaron Ennis' first-round stoppage victory over Uisma Lima last weekend was both a blessing and a curse, as far as the junior middleweight division is concerned.

Team Ennis will be under increased scrutiny to find a more suitable, evenly-matched opponent than those becoming all too commonplace on his nine-year pro resume.

However, the 28-year-old would've made himself a more compelling proposition for highly-rated contenders and world champions had he pitched the kind of defensively lax performance he displayed in his two-fight series with Karen Chukhadzhian.

Instead, Ennis' promoter Eddie Hearn has pushed his Philadelphia star as you'd expect and laid down the gauntlet for others to answer. Vergil Ortiz next or, failing that, any of the other champions.

IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) has already shared his view on Ennis' choice of opponent and questioned whether public declarations ever result in genuine traction.

WBO beltholder Xander Zayas is set to make a homecoming defence in the first quarter of 2026, while Sebastian Fundora-Keith Thurman has been rescheduled for late January after defending champion Fundora suffered a hand injury.

That leaves WBC interim champion Ortiz, who headlines a Golden Boy show on DAZN against Erickson Lubin on Nov. 8, and recently-upgraded WBA titleholder Abass Baraou as viable options for Ennis' forthcoming fight.

The disrespect Baraou is receiving comes as no surprise. Hearn repeatedly mispronounced his name on last week's broadcast, then again at the post-fight presser, while other power players remain unconvinced by the German's abilities among the elite. Most haven't watched him box, or merely tuned into highlights from his most recent performance.

Originally billed as an eliminator, Ennis-Lima was upgraded to a WBA interim championship fight a week prior and as such, is now next in-line for the 30-year-old. Yet he can still take a voluntary first defence, or look to unify elsewhere in the meantime.

First things first, Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) needs to settle on a defined coaching set-up.

Roberto Iznaga was the head coach leading his corner for the 12-round upset decision win over Yoenis Tellez on August 24. However, as he later told German media, this wasn't the original plan after recently splitting from former Cuban national coach Jorge Rubio.

"The people on fight night were just put together from people in the gym - my friends - we had done the last five weeks together," he tells The Ring.

"People don't know, but it was a short-term solution and I made an emergency compromise to keep the fight on. Luckily, I never listen to the outside noise. I have a strong opinion and whatever people say [in terms of criticism] doesn't reach me.

"I had to pull myself together and try to manage everything but I'm glad they were there for me, Roberto and Luis, my friend Joseph had to translate because he [Iznaga] only speaks Spanish. I'm glad they were with me as it helped in more ways than you can imagine."

It makes his upset victory over then-unbeaten interim titlist Tellez (10-1, 7 KOs) even more impressive.

Now a promotional free agent after his Wasserman deal elapsed, the German's next move - in multiple facets - is critical. Having benefited from stateside living over the past two years, it felt fitting his biggest opportunity came there.

"I was planning to have a defence at the end of the year or maybe a unification right away," he adds. "It depends on what can be made quickly and which promoter can offer those terms."

Matchroom are open to working with him on the provision he boxes Ennis, while he has spoken appreciatively about Sauerland brothers Nisse and Kalle, though Wasserman have been struggling for a solid schedule and doubts remain whether they can retain top talent.

As far as Baraou is concerned, it's a good problem to have.

"This is the start of something bigger, where I always aimed to be," he says. "I still have the same mentality and hunger, everything is closer and I'm dreaming bigger now, found my joy in boxing again and to me, I must keep hunting."

Where did that renewed joy for the sport come from?

"My time in the US," Baraou insists. "I came to Miami - my family is in Tampa - but I'm always on my own, making good friends, acclimatising to the city and learning their habits. There's world-class sparring everywhere, everyone is talented and it's a boxing city. They [people in boxing circles] were aware I was in town, my work has seen more light since I've been in the States.

"Even having the fight in Orlando, I had people coming to support me who said 'you're an underdog but we believe in you', others have got in touch and become educated about my style, I've done the work and finally it's starting to blossom."

Five years on from his lone career defeat by former title challenger Jack Culcay in August 2020, it feels like a pivotal moment reinforcing just how badly he wanted to reach the top.

"I stepped up on six weeks' notice with a new coach," he says. "I didn't get the decision but couldn't wait to overcome that loss and eventually prove I'm on the right path, learning so much about myself and giving me validation - I can go 12 rounds and I belong here.

"I needed to have patience, many fights were cancelled but it was a blessing because I needed to learn, having whole camps without fighting isn't easy but I knew my moment would come and it has."

In conversation he speaks glowingly of Zayas, a fellow champion he began sparring a week or two after arriving in Miami two years ago, but it's easy to forget how quickly things shift.

One day you're both working away, training hard in preparation for step-up fights and next thing you know, you're both featured on a mock-up poster, emblazoned with 'the hunted' by a former unified world champion eager to clean up at 154 pounds.

"We're all chasing the same goal, the same dream. Jaron is a great talent, Bakhram has been avoided and I think Vergil will be too much for Lubin, but everywhere you look in this division, there's strong talent," Baraou says.

"It's now about me proving myself as a danger to everyone."