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Gifted Jaron Ennis will face fellow heavyweight Roiman Villa on Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
JARON ENNIS (30-0, 27 KOs)
WITH. ROIMAN VILLA (26-1, 24 KOs)
- Day: Saturday, July 8
- Time: 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT (main event follows)
- Where: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
- television/stream: Showtime
- Assignment: Middleweight (147 pounds)
- threatened: No main title
- the odds: Ennis 8-1 favorite (multi-store average)
- Also on the card: Edwin De Los Santos vs. Joseph Adorno, lightweight; Yoelvis Gomez vs. Marquis Taylor, junior middle class
- Guess: Ennis KO 8
- Background: In the opinion of many observers, Ennis is gifted as a value-for-money star in the making. He was just waiting for his big opportunity. In the meantime, he has to overcome tough opponents like Villa. Ennis reminds some of Roy Jones Jr., with his combination of speed and unsurpassed punch power. Ennis saw a knockout record end in 19 games (not counting non-matches) in his most recent match, a decided to close overtakes the intelligent but survival-minded Karen Chukhadzhian in January. The 26-year-old from Philadelphia believes he is ready to take on the best in the league – including winner Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. – but he has no timetable. He said he will be ready when the time comes. Villa is primarily known as a big boxer but he is an all-round good boxer, as he proved by knocking out previously undefeated opponent Rashidi Ellis twice in the final round and win majority decision in January. Winning by a margin gave him the opportunity to face Ennis in the nationally televised card event, which is an important step forward for any boxer. He has won seven straight fights since losing to Marcos Villasana in the 135-pound weight class in 2019, after which he moved up the weight division.
