Jaron Ennis-Josh Kelly Unification Talks

Talks for a three-belt junior middleweight unification between Jaron Ennis and Josh Kelly are progressing toward a November or December date on the East Coast, according to Chris Mannix.

"Boots is chomping at the bit to get back in the ring, and I'm told there are advanced negotiations for Jaron Ennis to face Josh Kelly in a unification fight sometime in November or December. Josh Kelly, coming off a win this past month, had some injury issues after that fight. He had a nose injury, but Matchroom, Boots' team, believes that injury will be healed. I'm told they are targeting that fight on the East Coast before the end of this year," Mannix

The fight makes sense financially for both sides — Ennis adds Kelly's IBF title to his collection, while Kelly secures a career-high payday before a deeper IBF challenger catches up to him. His last outing hinted at why waiting could backfire: Kelly needed a narrow 12-round decision to get past Caoimhin Agyarko (IBF No. 15) in Jeddah on July 25, taking enough punishment to leave his nose badly damaged.

Ennis represents a significant step up — faster, heavier-handed, and more varied offensively than anyone Kelly has faced, a gap likely too wide for hometown scoring to bridge. The main obstacle now is Kelly's nose injury; if it doesn't hold up in camp, the fight could be delayed. Barring that, taking the Ennis fight is the more lucrative move compared to another lower-paying defense.