Brian Norman Denies Ducking Jaron Ennis: ‘We Accepted The Fight’
WBO welterweight title holder Brian Norman Jr has denied claims made by fellow champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis that he ducked a unification bout, claiming instead that he “accepted the fight”.
IBF champion Ennis (32-0-0 29 KO) gave an interview to YSM Sports Media on Thursday when he revealed an offer had been sent to Norman earlier this week which had been rejected.
“The offer was sent two days ago. They turned it down,” Boots said. “I don’t care [if Norman is next or for undisputed], I want to collect these belts, and I keep saying, I’m frustrated. I don’t want any backward fights; my whole thing is to be undisputed. My mindset is focused on WBC, WBO, WBA, and Ring Magazine. I want to be undisputed.”
Norman (26-0-0 20 KO) has disputed Ennis’ version of events, firstly responding on social media by posting: “I ain’t turn a damn thing down,” before giving his own explanation to YSM Sports Media, where he claimed he accepted the offer only for Boots to back down.
“We accepted the fight,” he said. “My dad called Bozy (Ennis) and told him we accepted the fight. Then Bozy said ‘Woah, woah, no. We ain’t trying to fight right now. We want to save that for undisputed’. So your daddy is the one who said no, not us.”
Both Ennis and Norman were promoted from interim to full champion status by the WBO and IBF respectively. The IBF promoted Ennis in November last year after Crawford failed to fulfill his mandatory obligation to fight Boots having been contracted to a rematch with Errol Spence Jr, whom he destroyed to become undisputed champion last July.
As it transpired, the rematch with Spence never took place as Crawford opted instead to make the move to super-welterweight to pursue world titles in a fourth division. ‘Bud’ achieved that by defeating Israil Madrimov in August to claim the WBA belt.
Ennis completed his first title defense in July by stopping former European champion David Avanesyan in the fifth round in his hometown of Philadelphia following 12 months of inactivity.
Keen to make up for lost time, Ennis and his promoter Eddie Hearn have made it clear that unification bouts are the only fights they are chasing, although it was recently revealed that the IBF has ordered its champion to face mandatory challenger Karen Chukhadzhian.
That has caused no small amount of frustration from Team Ennis, with Hearn saying he’s “not over the moon” about his fighter taking on an opponent he already dominated by total shutout in January 2023. However, given the IBF’s strict track record of stripping champions for not facing mandatories, Ennis will either need to grant Chukhadzhian a rematch or arrange a step-aside fee if a unification bout can be agreed instead.
Norman, meanwhile, was more recently elevated to full world champion following Crawford’s decision to formally leave the welterweight division and remain at 154lbs. The Georgian had earned the WBO interim belt by defeating Giovani Santillan in a 10th-round stoppage in May.
Like Ennis, Norman has spoken frequently of his desire to target unification bouts but is yet to make a first defense of his belt since his elevation.
A speculative theory of the back-and-forth between Ennis and Norman is that the tension building between the two fighters is designed to create a rivalry, so when they do eventually meet in the ring, the interest among fans can be at its highest.
