With Vergil Ortiz Jr. out of action due to an apparent illness, Jaron Ennis had the spotlight all on him on Saturday. The welterweight, looking to secure a title shot against the winner of Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford, sent a clear message to the division's elite.
Ennis successfully defended the interim IBF welterweight title for the first time, beating Roiman Villa via 10th-round knockout.
Afterward, he called out Spence and Crawford, saying he was next. If he isn't, he would be more than happy to face Eimantas Stanionis, the WBA (Regular) welterweight champion, who was supposed to face Ortiz this weekend.
Ennis started off with WWE Superstar Undertaker's opening theme in his entrance. It was a sign of things to come.
Ennis started the first round hot, landing several jabs to the body. He was a surgeon as he moved around the ring and used everything in his arsenal to weaken Villa. Uppercuts and combinations were battered Villa's face. Villa tried to land a few combinations of his own, but even when he was by the ropes, Ennis would not stop landing.
MORE: All you need to know about Errol Spence Jr. vs. Terence Crawford
Ennis displayed fantastic head movement in Round 2 and avoided any shot Villa attempted. Ennis fought through Villa's defense and then landed rapid jabs and body shots. The fight felt more like a sparring session at various points as Ennis toyed with Villa. Ennis opened Round 3 by landing more than 40 blows.
Villa did land solid shots in the third, but Ennis returned to a solid defensive game to halt his momentum. Ennis switched between attacking the body and the head as both were open. In Round 4, Ennis landed body shots and Villa was not protecting himself.
When he thought he had landed a good shot, Ennis shook his head and laughed.
Villa's best shot of the fight was a jab that snapped Ennis’ head back in the fifth. It didn’t get the job done.
Ennis pushed Villa back in the middle of that round as he used his hand speed to his advantage. Hard body shots connected, and Villa had no choice but to hold onto Ennis. A left hand and a body shot by Ennis connected, and Villa tried to fight through the pain.
In Round 6, Ennis landed a vicious hook to counter Villa’s hard shots. They both unloaded. It was Villa’s best round at that point.
Ennis played it close to the vest in Round 7. He landed open shots to Villa’s chest and hurt Villa with an uppercut as he continued his assault. Ennis' hands were down as he was as comfortable as could be.
Right hooks and lefts landed in Round 8. Villa's corner implored him to listen to them, or else they would call the fight. Ennis outlanded Villa 76-19 in Rounds 6-8.
Things took a turn for the worse for Villa in Round 10. Ennis landed combinations and one final blow that dropped his opponent. The referee was ready to call the fight just as Villa landed on the floor. It was the first time Villa had been dropped in his career.
In total, Ennis landed 227 of 622 shots (36 percent), with 164 of the shots for power. Villa landed 65 of 481 shots (14 percent). Ennis earned his 28th knockout win.
Marquis Taylor defeated Yoelvis Gomez via unanimous decision (96-93, 96-93, 99-90) on the undercard. Edwin De Los Santos started the main card by defeating Joseph Adorno via unanimous decision (99-91, 100-90, 100-90).
The Sporting News provided full results from the Ennis vs. Villa card.
Jaron Ennis vs. Roiman Villa full card results
- Jaron Ennis (c) def. Roiman Villa via 10th-round KO (1:27) for the interim IBF welterweight title.
- Marquis Taylor def. Yoelvis Gomez via unanimous decision (96-93, 96-93, 99-90).
- Edwin De Los Santos def. Joseph Adorno via unanimous decision (99-91, 100-90, 100-90).
- Euri Cedeno def. William Townsel via 1st-round TKO.
- Steven Torres def. James Evans via 3rd-round TKO.
- Dwyke Flemmings Jr. def. Henry Rivera via 3rd-round TKO.
- Ismail Muhammad def. Parker Bruno via 3rd-round TKO.