Whenever Jaron Ennis lays his head on a pillow, the same vivid dreams pop into his mind.
The 27-year-old sees himself in a dark room with the only light source emanating from all five world titles he has wrapped around his waist and shoulders. But just when he begins to get comfortable, his eyes pop open and despondence begins to seep in.
For Ennis, his trophy case may not be where he wants it but he does have a significant amount of hardware. In addition to already having his IBF title, the Philadelphia native recently grabbed the vacant Ring strap. In doing that, he also pilfered Eimantas Stanionis’ WBA crown as well.
Although he holds three titles simultaneously, Brian Norman Jr. and Mario Barrios have the other two pieces of his undisputed puzzle.
Derrick “Bozy” Ennis, his father and trainer, believes wholeheartedly that his son can take out both men on the same night. And while he hopes he’ll get the chance to prove it, he isn’t willing to simply sit back and twiddle his thumbs.
“We not gonna wait around for these guys,” said Bozy Ennis to The Ring.
The newly crowned Ring, IBF, and WBA champion is a big 147-pounder. But, despite walking around significantly heavier, he makes the welterweight limit just fine. Still, his time in the weight class is coming to an end relatively soon.
Out of the two remaining champions, Barrios has been mostly quiet. He’s coming off a poor performance against Abel Ramos where he was forced to settle for a split decision draw. Norman, on the other hand, is much more vocal.
Every chance he gets, the 24-year-old and his team chastise Team Ennis and dares them to send a contract their way. If things can be sorted out, they’ll get it on next but if a unification continues to be delayed and Ennis grows tired of cutting down in weight, his father believes his son will just drop the belts and move on up.
“It depends on how Boots feel. It’s whenever he wants to move up.”