Jaron Ennis vs Josh Kelly: Terms Agreed for 154lb Unification

Jaron Ennis has his next target, and it's another belt. Trainer Adam Booth says all terms are agreed for 'Boots' to face IBF super-welterweight champion Josh Kelly, with only a date still outstanding. That would put Ennis' WBA and WBO straps on the line against Kelly's IBF title in a straight-up unification.

Ennis walks in at 36-0 with 32 knockouts, fresh off a seventh-round stoppage of Xander Zayas in June that netted him the WBA and WBO belts. Kelly, 18-1-1 (9 KO), lifted the IBF strap in January with a majority-decision upset of Bakhram Murtazaliev, then defended it against Caoimhin Agyarko in July. Booth told Total Boxing with Tris Dixon that both camps have signed off on the numbers.

The Undisputed Puzzle

Ennis has been open about wanting to run the table at 154. Two of the four belts are already his. Kelly holds the third. The fourth — the WBC — sits with Sebastian Fundora, who's currently locked into a mandatory against Ermal Hadribeaj, so he's out of the picture for now. That leaves Kelly as the logical next name, and the shared Matchroom banner makes the fight easy to make.

Kelly's Rebuild

The Sunderland man's only loss came against David Avanesyan at welterweight back in 2021. Since then he's rebuilt with real intent, shedding old questions about his stamina and chin. The Murtazaliev win — over a fighter now 23-1 — was the statement, and the bloody grind past Agyarko showed a harder edge underneath that slick, hands-down style.

Here's the catch. There's a useful common opponent between these two, and it doesn't flatter Kelly. The man who handed him his sole pro defeat, Avanesyan, was blown out by Ennis in five rounds. Ennis is the pound-for-pound name here, and by some distance the toughest night of Kelly's career.

For now it's a waiting game on the calendar rather than the contracts. Booth reckons Ennis has signed too. Once a date lands, the whole 154lb division tilts toward whoever survives it — and Fundora, watching from his mandatory, knows exactly who's coming next.