Jaron Ennis vs. Roiman Villa: date, time, how to watch, background
Gifted Jaron Ennis will take on fellow welterweight contender Roiman Villa on Saturday in Atlantic City, New Jersey.
JARON ENNIS (30-0, 27 KOs)
VS. ROIMAN VILLA (26-1, 24 KOs)
Date: Saturday, July 8
Time: 9:30 p.m. ET / 6:30 p.m. PT (main event later in show)
Where: Boardwalk Hall, Atlantic City, New Jersey
TV/Stream: Showtime
Division: Welterweight (147 pounds)
At stake: No major titles
Odds: Ennis 8-1 favorite (average of multiple outlets)
Also on the card: Edwin De Los Santos vs. Joseph Adorno, lightweights; Yoelvis Gomez vs. Marquis Taylor, junior middleweights
Prediction: Ennis KO 8
Background: The gifted Ennis is a pound-for-pound star in the making, in the opinion of many observers. He’s just waiting for his big opportunity. In the meantime he must get past solid opponents like Villa. Ennis reminds some of Roy Jones Jr., with a combination of speed and punching power that is off the charts. Ennis saw a knockout streak end at 19 fights (not counting a no-contest) in his most recent outing, a shutout decision over clever, but survival-minded Karen Chukhadzhian in January. The 26-year-old from Philadelphia believes he’s ready to take on the best in the division – including the Terence Crawford-Errol Spence Jr. winner – but he has no time table. He said he’ll be ready when the time comes. Villa is known primarily as a big puncher but he’s a good all-around fighter, as he proved by putting previously unbeaten contender Rashidi Ellis down twice in the final round and winning a majority decision in January. The break-through victory earned him a chance to face Ennis in the main event of nationally televised card, which is a major step for any fighter. He has won seven consecutive fights since losing a split decision to Marcos Villasana at 135 pounds in 2019, after which he moved up in weight.
