By: Hans Themistode
Having spent the better part of the past decade as either a welterweight contender or a world champion, Shawn Porter knows a great fighter when he sees one. Jaron Ennis, the highly touted Philadelphia contender, has that look.
This past weekend, at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada, Ennis squared off against veteran contender Thomas Dulorme. As the multiple-time belt holder sat back and witnessed the one-sided beating Ennis dished out on the night, stopping his man in the first round, Porter’s jaw seemingly hit the ground.
At the age of 31, Porter doesn’t view Dulorme as a fighter who’s on his last legs. In fact, Porter respects the skillset of the Puerto Rican title challenger. Although Dulorme headed into their showdown on the heels of two fairly close decision losses, never before has he been ran through like he was this past weekend.
As Porter continues to dissect the overall skills of Ennis, he’s almost dumbfounded with his great this 24-year-old truly is.
“He’s too much. He’s just too much,” said Porter during an interview with FightHype.com. “When you have somebody who’s so intuitive in the ring, so intelligent in the ring. And then got the speed, the quickness, the agility, the power clearly. Just everything to back it up, he’s just too much. He’s amazing man. Dulorme’s not washed up, Dulrome’s not over the hill. I think if Dulorme had the opportunity, he would have fought and made it a fight but Jaron was too much.
Following his second straight knockout win over a highly ranked contender, Ennis has turned his attention towards a world title opportunity. The smooth switch hitter is currently ranked in the top five in three of the four major sanctioning bodies. Ideally, Ennis would quickly sign his name to take on any of the current titleholders.
However, matchups against Errol Spence Jr., Terence Crawford, or Yordenis Ugas – would be considered massive step-ups in competition. With that said, Porter believes a championship opportunity, even at this stage, wouldn’t be overwhelming.
“He’s ready.”