By Ian S Palmer
Unbeaten Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania takes on undefeated Custio Clayton of Dartmouth Nova Scotia, Canada in a 12-round welterweight tilt this Saturday, May 14th. The fight takes place in Carson, California and can be seen live in America on Showtime while those in Canada can catch it on TSN 2. Ennis last fought in October when he stopped Thomas Dulorme in 109 seconds. Clayton was last in action in December when he beat Cameron Crael by a 10-round unanimous decision.
Ennis is a fine 24-year-old prospect who enters the ring with a perfect mark of 28-0 with 26 Kos. He’s got a lot of pop in his punches with a current knockout ratio of 89.7 per cent. The only two men to take him the distance were Eddie Diaz who went four rounds in 2016 and James Winchester, who took him six rounds the following year. Ennis stands 5-feet-10-inches tall with a 74-inch wingspan and has boxed just 77 rounds in his 28 fights since making his pro debut back in 2016.
He started boxing at the age of 15 and enjoyed a fine amateur career with a reported mark of 58-3. He was a 2014 US National Golden Gloves Silver medalist in Las Vegas; a 2015 USA Youth National Championships Gold medalist in Reno; a 2015 US National Golden Gloves Tournament Gold medalist in Las Vegas; a 2015 US Olympic Trials Qualifier Gold medalist in Baltimore and a 2015 US Olympic Trials participant in Reno.
In 2018 he, won the vacant WBC (USNBC) Silver Welterweight Title with a third-round stoppage over Armando Alvarez. As a pro, Ennis has also beaten the likes of Dulorme, Sergey Lipinets, Elvin Perez, James Winchester, Wilfredo Acuna, Mike Arnaoutis, and Juan Carlos Abreu. His bout with Chris van Heerden in 2020 was called a no-decision when Van Heerden was cut in the first round from an accidental clash of heads.
Clayton is now 34 years old and represented Canada at the 2012 Olympics in London, England. He won his first two bouts in the event but was then defeated in the quarterfinals. He reportedly went 32-13 as an amateur and was once beaten by Errol Spence Jr. Since turning pro in 2014, Clayton has boxed 125 rounds and has posted a near-perfect mark of 19-0-1 with 12 Kos.
He also has pretty good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 60 per cent and has also displayed a solid chin up to now. Clayton is 5-feet-9-inches tall with a 69.5-inch reach so is one inch shorter than Ennis and also gives up 4.5-inches in reach. He won the vacant WBC Continental Americas and vacant IBF International Welterweight Titles in 2017 with a 10-round unanimous decision over Jhony Montano.
Clayton then won the vacant WBO International Welterweight Crown via a 10-round unanimous decision over Cristian Coria in his next bout six months later. He added the vacant IBF Inter-Continental Title with a 12-round unanimous decision over Steven Danyo in 2018. Clayton’s lone draw was a 10-round affair with Sergey Lipinets in 2020 for the interim IBF Welterweight Title. He’s also beaten Diego Ramirez, Johan Perez and DeMarcus Corley.
Prediction…
Ennis has plenty boxing skills and power and looks like he’s set to become a world champion in the near future. Clayton was impressive in his bout with Lipinets and is a fine pro but he’s 10 years older than Ennis and ranks second best to him in just about every department. Clayton will give it his best effort as usual but I’m expecting him to suffer his first loss as a pro on Saturday night.
