Uisma who?

The announcement that Jaron Ennis would face Uisma Lima in his 154-pound debut on Oct. 11 at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia wasn't universally well received because the Portugal-based Angolan is relatively anonymous.

Eddie Hearn, Ennis’ promoter, doesn’t understand the criticism. Of course, he knows that Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) is no star. At the same time, the 32-year-old is ranked in the Top 10 by three sanctioning bodies. And Hearn believes that if you took the time to watch his fights, you'd embrace the matchup.

Lima's only loss came by unanimous decision against unbeaten middleweight contender Aaron McKenna in 2023.

“If you know Lima, you know it’s a great fight,” Hearn told The Ring. “The reality is, we needed a fight at 154 that was going to test Jaron Ennis. Eight fighters turned this down for massive money. No one wants to fight Jaron Ennis, but Lima will.

"He’s top ten with three governing bodies, he’s the IBO champion, and this is a WBA final eliminator. This is a brilliant fight.”

Ennis' deleterious knockouts, fast hands, and ability to fight out of both stances won’t scare Lima in the slightest. He has strolled to the ring on three consecutive occasions as an underdog against undefeated fighters since April of last year. Each time, he got the job done.

Still, Ennis is being chastised. Fans expected him to face a top-tier opponent after he dropped his Ring, IBF, and WBA welterweight titles last month and moved up to junior middleweight.

Hearn believes that Lima fits that mold, meaning no one should be shocked if Ennis is tested. If he wins, Hearn guarantees that his star will face the sort of names that will make fans salivate.

Said Hearn: “He will fight anybody.”