Matchroom Boxing’s Eddie Hearn awaits an answer. His fighter, Jaron “Boots” Ennis, has done his part. Now Golden Boy, which promotes Vergil Ortiz Jr., must do its homework, it seems. The back-and-forth in the Boots-Ortiz saga has kept everyone on edge. What once sounded like ‘it will happen’ has now shifted to ‘it should happen.’ The uncertainty, however, hasn’t stopped many from speculating about the fight.

Frank Martin was among a bevy of fighters and celebrities who gathered in Fort Worth for the Golden Boy event that ended with a tense Vergil Ortiz Jr.–Jaron Ennis face-off. The drama presumably gave Martin an opportunity to assess the duo’s potential matchup. So when he was asked to share his thoughts, the lightweight fighter didn’t hesitate to voice some of his worst fears. Martin hasn’t fought since his eighth-round TKO loss to Gervonta Davis. Ending his layoff, he returns on the much-anticipated Lamont Roach-Isaac Cruz card on December 6.

Can Jaron Ennis stand up to Vergil Ortiz’s bombs?

His concerns largely center on the challenges Boots may face against a heavy hitter like Ortiz. With a staggering 92% KO rate, and with only a few fights making it past the sixth round, the Grand Prairie–born interim light middleweight champion remains one of the sport’s most formidable finishers. Frank Martin wasted no time highlighting that point.

“That’s a fight right there,” he said when the Fight Hub TV host asked for his views on Boots vs. Ortiz. He acknowledged Ennis’s outstanding skill set. In true Philadelphia slickster fashion, he can box as well as punch. But facing a power puncher like Vergil Ortiz, who can punish every mistake, is an entirely different ballgame, he felt.

“Is he going to be able to take those from a big puncher like Vergil?” Frank Martin wondered. Stylistically, he sees it as an ideal clash between a boxer and a puncher. And there’s no reason for Boots to be at an advantage, he continued. Still, the mere thought of watching Ennis face someone of Ortiz’s power gave him jitters.

Even so, he seemed optimistic that Boots and his team could be working on ways to dull Ortiz’s piercing punches.

Boots Ennis needs to brace for the worst

Speaking on his podcast All the Smoke Fight, legend Andre Ward also raised similar concerns. Reports suggested Jaron Ennis might be pushing too hard in the gym. So Ward explained why that troubled him.

“My concern for him is that you get so many fights, and you spend so much time in the gym, and you fight a certain level of competition. He’s 35 and 0; he hasn’t fought an elite guy yet. Some people say nobody wants to fight him, but you still have to deal with the fact that you haven’t had that type of danger that you need on the other side of the ring to turn your senses on at the highest level,” Ward stated.

If you keep fighting opponents who aren’t challenging enough, you start to overestimate your abilities. A fighter convinces himself that because he handled punches in training or against lesser opponents, he can handle the same from everyone, Ward highlighted. But real fights are far more intense, dangerous, and unpredictable than sparring sessions.

So, as Frank Martin and many others have suggested, Boots may need a paradigm shift should he finally secure the opportunity to face Ortiz.

Given that both Ennis and Ortiz fight under the DAZN banner, many hope the two interim champions meet while still in their prime. Better they both gear up now before it’s too late.

Do you think Boots would be able to withstand Ortiz’s punches?