Jaron 'Boots' Ennis makes thunderous statement in 154-pound debut with first-round TKO of Uisma Lima

It took less than a round on Saturday for Jaron "Boots" Ennis to bring his official 154-pound debut to a thunderous close. 

Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs), the former unified welterweight champion, sent a loud and clear message to the junior middleweight division by scoring two knockdowns en route to a first-round TKO of Portugal's Uisma Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) inside of a loud Wells Fargo Center crowd.  

"I sent a big message," Ennis said. "You already know what time it is and you know who I want next."

The victory, which marked Ennis' first appearance since stopping unbeaten Eimantas Stanionsis in their April unification bout at 147 pounds, likely sets up a long-anticipated showdown with Vergil Ortiz Jr. (23-0, 21 KOs), provided he gets past Erickson Lubin (27-2, 19 KOs) in November. 

"Line them up and he will knock them out," Ennis' promoter, Eddie Hearn of Matchroom Sport, said. "Vergil Ortiz will get destroyed by Jaron Ennis. I will bet the house on it with [Ortiz promoter] Oscar De La Hoya. It's the best fight in boxing in America. It's a beautiful fight. [Ortiz] is a great fighter but I'm telling you, [Ennis] is another level."

The 32-year-old Lima, a native of Angola, brought a muscular southpaw frame and a hard-punching reputation for bringing the unbeaten starts of his opponents to a screeching halt. The gap in both experience and dynamic athleticism proved to be an instant problem for him, however, as the 28-year-old Ennis was able to operate with a full tank after years of depriving himself in order to make the 147-pound limit. 

Although Ennis opened in an orthodox stance, his switch on the fly to southpaw midway through Round 1 became a problem for Lima as a lead right uppercut wobbled him. Ennis instantly went on the assault and connected with a clean two-punch combo that put him on the canvas.

"I just listened to my team to stay behind the jab and stay relaxed but I peeped [Lima] started jumping around a little bit," Ennis said. "So, I touched the hook to the body and tried to come up top a little bit and that was the first knockdown."

A second flurry from an aggressive Ennis dropped Lima a second time shortly after.  

"Until 154, this guy has been fighting at 60 or 70 percent of his capacity," Hearn said. "I'm telling you now, he's 28 years of age, this is the future of the sport of boxing. This is the pound-for-pound No. 1 in waiting. There is nobody at 154, 160 or dare I say 168 who can beat this guy. We are coming for everybody."

Still fighting as a southpaw, Ennis cornered Lima and rocked him with a left uppercut that forced referee Shawn Clark to jump in and stop the fight at 1:58 of the opening round. 

"I did what I had to do. I'm here at 154 and made a statement. Let's bring them names, bring them," Ennis said. "I feel like the more I go up [in weight], the stronger I am going to get. I was fighting at 147 for my whole professional career. It was time to go.

"I think [Lima] was trying to be smart and not fight like how he usually fights because he didn't want to get caught early … but I felt way different. Even fight week, I felt phenomenal. I felt rejuvenated and excited."

Even though Ennis received criticism from the boxing community coming in for making his divisional debut against a fighter who wasn't a household name, it became clear after the victory that whether it's Ortiz next or not, Ennis is ready to take on the best of the division, including all of the reigning titleholders.  

"[The Ortiz fight] is going to happen next," Ennis said. "I know he has his fight coming up and is focused on his fight. If you don't win, I'll fight Lubin but I want Vergil Ortiz next. If we can't get Vergil Ortiz next, I heard that baby cub [Jermell] Charlo was calling me out, too. He could get it next. [Sebastian] Fundora, Bahkram [Murtazaliev], he can get it. Xander [Zayas] can get it. I'm belt chasing, this is my division. 154 is mine, I'm on tour."