Foreign Imports and Local Fan Favorite ‘Boots’ Ennis Shine on ‘ShoBox’ From Philly

PHILADELPHIA – For years they have come from all parts of the world to this city with the rich boxing tradition, hoping to gain for themselves some measure of what homegrown fighters consider to be their birthright.

Prior to his two-round demolition of fellow Philly homeboy Raymond “Tito” Serrano (24-6, 10 KOs), 21-year-old welterweight prospect Jaron “Boots” Ennis (22-0, 20 KOs), who came up in the Germantown section that for a time nurtured the great Bernard Hopkins, had said he wanted to “put Philadelphia boxing on my back” and be the face of the sport locally, as had previously been the case with such iconic civic institutions as Bennie Briscoe, Joe Frazier and, of course, B-Hop. But on this latest night of showcased Philly pugilistic pride, even the dominant Ennis (pictured) – who won his 12^th straight bout inside the distance — had to share some of the plaudits with imports from Ukraine and Liberia.

Super bantamweight Arnold Khegal (14-0-1, 9 KOs), who relocated to the City of Brotherly Gloves from Ukraine to hone his craft, has yet to remind fans at the 2300 Arena or the ShoBox: The New Generation viewing audience that he is another Briscoe, Frazier or Hopkins, or Ukrainian standouts Vitali and Wladimir Klitschko, Vasiliy Lomachenko or Oleksandr Usyk, for that matter. But he was impressive in scoring an eight-round unanimous decision over Jorge Diaz (19-6-1, 10 KOs), of New Brunswick, N.J., dropping Diaz in the sixth round and maybe knocking him down a couple of more times that didn’t count. Diaz went to the canvas an incredible eight other times, including three times in the eighth round, all of which were ruled pushes or slips by referee Gary Rosato.

Samuel “Tsunami” Teah (15-2-1, 7 KOs), the 31-year-old Liberian who arrived in Philly in 2001, judged his eight-round unanimous decision over Chicago’s Kenneth Sims Jr. (13-2-1, 4 KOs) to be his finest performance to date, has a special motivation every time he enters the ring. Stitched into the waistband of his trunks is Job 1:21, a biblical reminder of the Dec. 26, 2008, fire that claimed the lives of five family members and a friend. The passage reads thusly:

Naked I came from my mother’[s womb,

And naked I will depart.

The Lord gave and the Lord has taken away;

May the name of the Lord be praised.

“I felt this was my best performance,” said Teah, who came into the bout a slight underdog.

Ennis, for sure, wasn’t an underdog against Serrano, and won’t be until he is paired against one of the leading lights in the 147-pound weight class, which he hopes will be soon. The Southwest Philly flash dominated from the opening bell, switching from orthodox to southpaw and back again smoothly and scoring with big shots from both stances.

After rocking Serrano in the first round, Ennis finished him off in the second, scoring three quick knockdowns, one with an overhand left and two more with straight rights. Given Serrano’s reputation as a tough customer, the fact that Boots stomped on him so easily was a bit of an eye-opener.

“The better my opponent, the better I’m going to be,” he said. “I’m going to be better, faster, stronger. I’m ready to step up. Whoever they put in front of me I’m going to stop. It don’t matter.”

Other Bouts

Local favorite Brandon Pizarro (13-1, 6 KOs), who is building a loyal Philly fan base, was not in one of the three ShoBox: The New Generation TV fights, but the super lightweight fought as if he were, scoring a six-round unanimous decision over gritty southpaw Jerome Rodriguez (7-11-3, 2 KOs), of Allentown, Pa.

Super featherweight Gadwin Rosa (9-0, 7 KOs),of Ocala, Fla., remained undefeated with a unanimous, six-round decision over Mexican veteran German Meraz (61-51-2, 38 KOs).

Knockouts do not come any more emphatic than the one registered by light heavyweight Gledwin “Chico” Ortiz (6-2, 5 KOs), of the Bronx, N.Y., who landed a crushing overhand right to the jaw of Philly’s Kieran Hooks (3-2-1, 1 KO) in the first round. Hooks crashed to the canvas, unconscious, and referee Benji Esteves Jr. didn’t bother to even initiate a count.

Popular Puerto Rican lightweight Christian Carto (7-0, 6 KOs) was having his way with Darnell Pettis (3-13), Cleveland, Ohio, when referee Gary Rosato, on the advice of the ring physician, stopped the bout at the end of three in the scheduled four-rounder.

Light heavyweight Benjamin Sinakin (2-0, 1 KO), Philadelphia, also needed only one round to put away Darren Gibbs (1-6, 1 KO), Ferndale, Mich.

In the first undercard bout, highly touted cruiserweight David Stephens, a native of Reading, PA and winner of several national titles as an amateur, turned pro with a first-round stoppage of Dustin Long (0-2-2), Johnson City, Tenn., in a scheduled four-rounder.

Bernard Fernandez is the retired boxing writer for the Philadelphia Daily News. He is a five-term former president of the Boxing Writers Association of America, an inductee into the Pennsylvania, New Jersey and Atlantic City Boxing Halls of Fame and the recipient of the Nat Fleischer Award for Excellence in Boxing Journalism and the Barney Nagler Award for Long and Meritorious Service to Boxing.

Photo credit: Amanda Westcott / SHOWTIME

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