Highly ranked welterweight contender Jin Sasaki believes he can knock out IBF 147-lb champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, and he wants to get the opportunity to fight him. Sasaki (18-1-1, 17 KOs) says if Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) doesn’t get in his bike, he’ll KO him early, but if he runs, it’ll go the distance.
Ennis and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, would receive a lot of criticism from fans if he were to fight Sasaki. He turned down a lucrative clash against WBC interim junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. for Turki Alalashikh’s February 22nd card because he wanted to stay at 147 to unify the division.
Obviously, if Boots were to fight Sasaki, it wouldn’t be a unification, which makes it clear to the fans that he turned down the career-high payday match against Vergik Jr. at 154 out of fear and a lack of self-belief.
Boots already looked bad in his last fight against Karen Chukhadzhian, choosing to fight his IBF mandatory rather than unification. Hearn couldn’t negotiate a deal with WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. for a match against Ennis. If Hearn can’t set up unification fights for Ennis, he might as well have moved up to 154 to fight Vergil Jr.
“I’m fully confident I can knock him out,” said Jin Sasaki to Tru School Sports about his belief that he can knockout Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. “I’m confident because I’ve seen doing sparring, and I figured out I can knockout Boots.
“If he [Ennis] doesn’t get on his bike, it’ll be short. If he runs, it’ll be long and will go the distance.
“I think he’s a great fighter, and he’s tough, and I really want to fight him,” said Sasaki when asked if he’d be interested in fighting WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. “I want to do it next year in 2025. “I’m confident, I can beat him. I think Boots Ennis is the top guy at welterweight.”
Sasaki’s only career defeat came against Andy Hiraoka by an 11th-round knockout on October 19, 2021. Hiraoka is a light welterweight. Sasaki’s best career wins have come against Joh Noynay and Keita Obara.
“Against Ryan Garcia and Devin Haney would be a good match. I think I would have difficulties against Haney. His jab obviously [would give Sasaki problems], but he doesn’t take any chances. He’s a very disciplined fighter.”
