By Ian S Palmer
Sergey Lipinets of Kazakhstan will be taking on unbeaten Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania this Saturday, April 10 in a 12-round welterweight war. The fight takes place in Uncasville, Connecticut and can be seen live in America on Showtime while those in Canada can catch it on TSN 2. Lipinets last fought in October to a tough 10-round majority draw with Custio Clayton for the interim IBF World Title. Meanwhile, Ennis fought to a one-round no-decision with Chris van Heerden in December after Van Heerden was cut by an accidental head butt.
Former IBF Super Lightweight Champion Sergey Lipinets won that vacant title in November, 2017 with a unanimous decision over Akihiro Kondo in 2017. The 32-year-old is 16-1-1 with 12 Kos. He has pretty good power in his fists with a current knockout ratio of 66.7 per cent. Lipinets turned pro in 2014 after a fine amateur career and is also a former WAKO Kickboxing Champion. He has 135 rounds of pro experience and stands 5-feet-7-inches tall with a 67-inch reach.
His lone career loss came via a 12-round unanimous decision to Mikey Garcia in March, 2018 in which he lost his IBF Crown in his first defence. His biggest victory was stopping Lamont Peterson in the 10th round in March, 2019. The only other recognizable opponents he’s faced are Erick Bone, Walter Castillo and Cosme Rivera. Lipinets has displayed a solid chin so far to go along with his power but was dropped in the seventh round by Garcia. Lipinets also won the vacant WBO Inter-Continental Welterweight Title in July, 2019 when he stopped Jayar Inson in the second round.
Ennis is a fine 23-year-old prospect who enters the ring with a perfect mark of 26-0 with 24 Kos. He’s got a lot of pop in his hands with a current knockout ratio of 88.9 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-1-inches tall with a 74-inch wingspan which gives him a three-inch edge in height on Lipinets as well as a seven-inch reach advantage.
Ennis has boxed just 70 rounds in his 26 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 Elvin Perez, James Winchester, Wilfredo Acuna, Mike Arnaoutis, and Juan Carlos Abreu, so he’ll actually be taking a step up in class when he steps into the ring with Lipinets on Saturday.
Prediction…
This is a good matchup as Lipinets is a seasoned pro with enough power to do some damage and he also has a pretty solid chin. Ennis has plenty of power to test it with and this could be an entertaining, fan-friendly fight. Lipinets’ experience will come in handy but the younger Ennis should be able to do just enough to have his hand raised when it’s all over.
