Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, got on his soapbox, lecturing WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. to “show ambition” by agreeing to fight in Boots’ hometown of Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center in a unification next.
Hearn complained that Norman Jr. (27-0, 21 KOs) and the other champion at 147 only think about “money” regarding their fights. He pointed out that Norman Jr. only made $150K for his last fight on March 29th against Derrieck Cuevas, and he had second billing, fighting on the undercard of Mikaela Mayer vs. Sandy Ryan.
Minimizing Value
By mentioning Brian Norman Jr’s purse for his fight against Cuevas, Hearn is attempting to chip away at his self-worth to motivate him to fight Boots Ennis in a less-than-ideal situation for less money and in his hometown of Philadelphia.
Hearn’s Psychological Pressure Tactics
- Minimizing Norman Jr’s value: By revealing that his purse was $150,000 for his title defense against Derrieck Cuevas, Hearn is trying to make Norman Jr. seem less important and unworthy of a big purse for a fight against Ennis. In other words, undermine Norman Jr’s feelings of self-worth to make him want to fight Boots.
- Creating public pressure: If the public pressures Norman Jr. to fight Boots, he’ll agree to the fight and be more likely to accept a smaller purse.
- Ambition argument: Hearn is playing on the idea that Norman Jr. can increase his popularity and marketability by fighting Ennis in a unification. By fighting, he would be showing that he’s trying to strive for more. He would be fighting on Ennis’s terms, though, in his backyard for less money.
IBF 147-lb champion Boots (34-0, 30 KOs) defeated WBA belt-holder Eimantas Stanionis (15-1, 9 KOs) by a sixth-round stoppage last Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
Stanionis looked ring-rusy, slow, and basic against Ennis. He was easy pickings for the IBF champion Boots, who looked like a junior middleweight fighting a welterweight. Without the IBF’s 10-lb rehydration rule in effect, Ennis looked massive inside the ring. He’d appeared sickly and emaciated at Friday’s weigh-in.
“More Money” Demand
“After a performance like that, we don’t take less money, we take more money,” said promoter Eddie Hearn at the post-fight press conference, talking about his fighter, IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, after his sixth round stoppage win over WBA champ Eimantas Stanionis last Saturday night at the Boardwalk Hall in Atlantic City.
Well, there it is. Hearn is saying he wants Boots Ennis to “take more money” for his less fight, which means Norman Jr. or WBC champion Mario Barrios can expect less to face him in a unification match. Moreover, they would have to agree to fight Boots in his hometown of Philadelphia at the Wells Fargo Center. What a rotten deal.
“So, the other guys, they’ll get paid, but they’ve got to show some ambition. It’s just money, money, money, money,” said Hearn. “What about trying to be #1 in the division? Guys like Brian Norman. With all due respect to Brian Norman. He just boxed for $150,000 on the undercard of Mikaela Mayer against Sandy Ryan at the Fontainebleau in Las Vegas.
“If we go back to the Wells Fargo [in Ennis’ hometown in Philadelphia] again, he will fill the whole place, 18, 19,000 unquestionably. So, there’s money in the pot, but you’ve got to show ambition as well,” said Hearn, sending a message to WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. to agree to fight in Boots’ hometown in front of a large pro-Ennis crowd as the B-side.
Last Updated on 04/13/2025
