So it’s official. Jaron Ennis is moving up a division. Just three months ago, at the historic Jim Whelan Boardwalk Hall, Boots delivered a dominant performance, forcing Eimantas Stanionis into a corner retirement. That win crowned him the unified welterweight champion, leaving him just two belts shy of becoming undisputed. However, Jaron Ennis is now linked to a potential bout with Josh Kelly at 154 lbs in his debut at light middleweight. But Kelly’s trainer and manager, Adam Booth, has already slammed promoter Eddie Hearn for making a “derisory” offer for Kelly to face Ennis in his hometown of Philadelphia on October 11.

Ranked No. 3 in the WBO’s 154-pound division, 31-year-old “Pretty Boy” Kelly seemed a natural fit when the WBO installed Ennis at No. 4, setting up what could be a final eliminator. However, Booth, who also serves as Kelly’s manager, rejected Matchroom’s opening offer outright. He accused Hearn of using the media to apply pressure, attempting to push them into a tough fight with low financial incentive. So what exactly happened?

Yesterday, fttvboxing posted an image of Eddie Hearn on Instagram with the bold headline: “ADAM BOOTH BLASTS HEARN OVER ‘RIDICULOUSLY LOW’ OFFER FOR JOSH KELLY VS. BOOTS ENNIS!” According to Booth, Matchroom’s offer for Kelly to face Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis in his first fight at the new weight class was insultingly low, less than half of what Kelly previously earned for a 10-round bout. And that, to Kelly’s camp, was simply unacceptable. The lowball nature of the deal was especially disappointing considering Hearn knows exactly what Kelly has commanded before.

First, Josh Kelly is riding a seven-fight win streak since his 2021 loss to David Avanesyan and recently stopped Flavius Biea in just two minutes at Newcastle Arena. So Booth is now pushing for a bigger breakthrough opportunity. He believes the 28-year-old is the right kind of opponent, but only if the deal reflects the magnitude of the matchup. Second, Booth emphasized Kelly’s long-standing position in the top five of the world rankings. “It’s literally a question of trying to get a world title fight, a final eliminator, a big-name fight to break through onto the world stage,” he said.

Speaking directly about Jaron Ennis, Booth made it clear: “We want that fight… Josh won’t now hide from anyone.” But he didn’t hold back his criticism of Eddie Hearn either. “If you don’t want to take a fight, you outprice yourself. And if you don’t really want to make a fight, you make a low-ball offer,” he said. Unless Matchroom sweetens the purse, Booth hinted they’re just as open to other big-name options as Ennis is, and Kelly isn’t short on offers either.

Jaron Ennis’ potential opponent thinks big, maybe too big

Josh Kelly and his trainer-manager Adam Booth are working to secure the most significant fight of the Sunderland native’s career before year’s end. With Eddie Hearn’s offer to face 154-pound newcomer Jaron Ennis deemed financially insufficient, Kelly, currently ranked No. 3 by both the IBF and WBO, would gladly accept a shot at either Bakhram Murtazaliev, who currently holds the IBF belt, or the rising star Xander Zayas, who recently clinched the WBO title.

In a recent interview with Tha Boxing Voice, His Excellency Turki Alalshikh, chairman of Saudi Arabia’s General Entertainment Authority and head of Riyadh Season, revealed that several fighters had already turned down opportunities to face the 23-0 Russian. But the 17-1 boxer, however, made it clear he’s not among those unwilling. In fact, he believes Murtazaliev would be an easy night’s work.

“I’ll fight Murtazaliev. I’ll fight him no problem,” Kelly told The Ring on Tuesday. He also added that his name had already been submitted for the bout, though they’ve yet to hear back. Brimming with confidence, he continued, “I think I’ll make him look silly. I saw him against Jack Culcay and that was a bad night at the office for him… I’m faster than him. He probably hits harder and is bigger than me, but it’s not about that. It’s about the IQ.”

On top of it, Kelly may also find himself in line to challenge newly crowned WBO champ Zayas, especially given his high ranking within that organization. When asked about Zayas, he said: “I should be fighting him next really. He was calling me out last year and at the time, neither of us were really anywhere.” Still, Kelly admits the next move lies with Eddie Hearn. But if Jaron Ennis does end up fighting Josh Kelly, do you think it would be an easy win for Ennis, given his experience and skills? What do you think?