The big question that beckons for Jaron “Boots” Ennis is whether or not he’ll add a significant name to his resume the next time he steps inside the ring.

Ennis left much to be desired in the competition that was picked when he made his junior middleweight debut last month against Uisma Lima, blasting the unheralded contender inside two minutes of the first round.

Lima proved to be an underwhelming option, especially after Ennis stopped Eimantas Stanionis in April to become the Ring and unified welterweight champion.

Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) now has his eyes firmly set on Saturday night’s clash between Vergil Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs) and Erickson Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) with the intent to take on the winner. Ennis’ preference is the long-discussed bout against Ortiz, and he’ll be ringside in Texas along with promoter Eddie Hearn to pound the table calling for a clash against the winner.

Hall of Fame fighter and analyst Andre Ward issued a warning to the uber-talented Ennis as he navigates his career moving forward.

“If you spend too long at a certain level, you start to get a false sense of yourself,” Ward said on All The Smoke's "Hall of Game" Podcast in a conversation with Roy Jones Jr. "It looks to me that Jaron Ennis can rise with the level of competition. You just have to see it. I respect what they have going on in Philadelphia.

“I think the time is now for Boots to get this opportunity [against the Ortiz-Lubin winner]. If he doesn't, it's going to be rough. He has to start getting those types of fights against top-flight competition. He said he'll fight anybody, and I believe him. I'm hoping Ennis gets these opportunities moving forward to show the world what he has. Because on paper, Boots looks like a special, special fighter.

"From a development standpoint, if you are going to be the king of any division, you have to start having these kinds of fights. He's 28 years old, and he's going to blink and be 30. There is no doubt that Boots can fight. If you have one eye, you can see that.

“He’s 35-0 and he hasn’t fought an elite guy yet. You still have to deal with the fact that you haven’t had that type of danger that you need on the other side of the ring to turn your senses on at the highest level.”

Ennis certainly understands the situation that he’s in, and the fact that he needs to face more formidable foes as he operates in the prime of his career. Ennis has knocked out everyone he’s faced over his last 23 fights dating back to 2017, except Karen Chukhadzhian twice.

If, for whatever reason, a deal with the Ortiz-Lubin winner fight falls apart, Ennis has insisted that 154-pound title holders Sebastian Fundora, Bakhram Murtazaliev, Xander Zayas, and Abass Baraou need to be next.

“I'm coming,” Ennis told The Ring right after his quick work of Lima. “[Ortiz] has to focus on the task at hand. That's actually a great fight. You can't sleep on Lubin. Lubin is a crafty, sharp boxer and a great fighter as well. Vergil is a great fighter as well. Their styles clash very well, and I think it's going to make for a great fight. I think it's a 50-50 fight, and that some people are sleeping on Lubin. I think Lubin has the skills and will to beat Vergil, and vice versa. Vergil brings good pressure and has a good jab. It's a great fight for boxing, and may the best man win. Like I said, Vergil is next, for me. Or the winner, or whatever champion is available.”