Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Ryan Garcia could be on a collision course for a major welterweight fight in 2025.
On Tuesday, the WBA officially elevated its world champion, Ennis — who also owns the IBF title — to the status of “super” champion and mandated him to defend his crown against No. 1 contender Shakhram Giyasov next. Per WBA rules, Ennis has until Aug. 10 to fulfill his mandatory commitment against the unbeaten Giyasov. The “super” designation is given to a boxer who has captured the WBA title but also holds championships for other sanctioning bodies (IBF, WBO, WBC) within the same division.
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Additionally, the sanctioning body confirmed that the Ryan Garcia vs. Rolando Romero match that headlines the May 2 show at the iconic Times Square in New York will be for the WBA’s secondary title, the “regular” welterweight championship.
The winner of Ennis vs. Giyasov will be ordered to meet the Garcia vs. Romero victor in a title consolidation bout afterward.
Ennis (34-0, 30 KOs) defeated Eimantas Stanionis earlier this month to unify the WBA and IBF titles after Stanionis retired on his stool at the end of Round 6. Giyasov (17-0, 10 KOs) knocked out Franco Maximiliano Oampo on the Ennis vs. Stanionis undercard to retain his mandatory position.
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Now Ennis and Giyasov, who are both promoted by Eddie Hearn’s Matchroom Boxing, have been mandated to face each other. Ennis will also eventually have an IBF mandatory due, following the outcome of the Lewis Crocker vs. Paddy Donovan rematch, which is targeted for the back end of the summer.
Turki Alalshikh is planning for Garcia (24-1, 20 KOs) and Devin Haney to rematch in October, should they both emerge victorious in May against Romero (16-2, 13 KOs) and Jose Ramirez, respectively.
Neither Garcia nor Haney have fought since their April 2024 bout against one another, meaning both will be ending year-long layoffs on May 2.
Garcia dropped Haney three times en route to a majority decision win in that bout, however the match was later declared a no contest after Garcia tested positive for the banned substance ostarine in a pre-fight drug test conducted by the Voluntary Anti-Doping Association.
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