Uisma Lima didn’t downplay the abundance of skills that have made Jaron Ennis one of the most touted talents in boxing.

The Angolan-born junior middleweight admits Ennis is definitely different from the first 15 opponents since turning pro in February 2019. Lima reminded those who have given him no chance of defeating Ennis on Saturday night, though, that there is also a difference between beating up undersized welterweights and dominating opponents who have long competed in the division Ennis entered after his last fight.

Lima is certain Ennis will find it more troublesome when he encounters a career-long junior middleweight (154) and middleweight (160) than when he squeezed down to welterweight (147). Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) will make his debut at 154 when he meets Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) in a 12-round bout that the WBA sanctioned this week for its interim super welterweight title.

Ennis is in for quite a surprise, according to Lima, if he thinks their fight at Xfinity Mobile Arena in Philadelphia will at all resemble his six-round domination of former WBA welterweight champ Eimantas Stanionis (16-1, 9 KOs) on April 12 in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

“Boots is the best opponent I have until now,” Lima told The Ring. “Boots is very good, but I think he needs some things to level up the game. I think Boots is coming up to the division and now we’ll see the true Boots because at welterweight Boots was so big and he fought with small guys. Now, in this division he’ll fight with people his size.

“We’ll see if he has the power and the speed and the footwork because this division is different. I think this division is more difficult than welterweight. They have more power, more speed, more strength. He’ll need to be more clever in the ring. He’ll need more fast thinking. We’ll see if he’s capable of fighting in this division like he fought at welterweight.”

Ennis, 28, gave up his Ring, IBF and WBA welterweight titles in June because he and his team determined dropping down to 147 depleted him too much physically.

He didn’t look compromised when he picked apart Lithuania’s Stanionis, whom Ennis knocked down during the sixth round of their unification fight. Ennis had shut out Stanionis on all three scorecards, 60-53 apiece, when trainer Marvin Somodio stopped it before the seventh began.

Portugal’s Lima, 32, has won four straight fights since Ireland’s Aaron McKenna (20-0, 10 KOs) beat him by unanimous decision in a 10-round middleweight match, a bout the former took on one week’s notice in June 2023. Each of those four victories took place on the opponents' home soil, which was why Lima didn’t hesitate to face Ennis in Philadelphia.

Lima’s confidence notwithstanding, DraftKings lists Ennis as a 30-1 favorite to beat him in a main event DAZN will stream globally. DAZN’s undercard coverage is scheduled to start at 8 p.m. ET (5 p.m. PT).