Ennis vacates interim title.
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is set to challenge Xander Zayas on the 27th of June in what is one of the most anticipated fights on the boxing schedule.
The bout will be taking place at the Barclays Centre in Brooklyn, New York, and will be contested for the WBA and WBO super-welterweight titles.
The man who holds both titles (Zayas) is the youngest unified champion in boxing, with the 23-year-old having won his second belt in January of this year over Abass Baraou.
But Ennis has already been a unified champion at welterweight and will be seeking to be one again in a second division, strengthening his position as one of the key players in one of the most stacked weight classes in the sport.
In his sole bout at 154 pounds, Ennis demolished Uisma Lima in a single round, a triumph that won him the WBA interim title.
However, Ennis has now vacated that strap ahead of his two-belt showdown against Zayas, the reason being that he wishes to be the mandatory challenger for the WBO, who previously didn’t rank him due to his status as a WBA titleholder.
Per the WBO rules, a fighter must be ranked within the top 15 to fight for one of their trinkets. With this decision from Ennis, he can now fully proceed with his unified title clash next month.
Considered one of the best American fighters not thought to be a universal placement on the pound-for-pound list, the Philadelphian southpaw will be hoping to turn a big one into even bigger opportunities in the division.
Jaron Ennis has vacated his WBA interim 154lb title in order to compete for both Xander Zayas’ WBO and WBA belts.#ZayasEnnis pic.twitter.com/IK1mlqRZmc
— BoxingScene.com (@boxingscene) May 14, 2026
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