Philadelphia’s own Jaron “Boots” Ennis made a thunderous statement in his first fight at super welterweight, stopping Angola’s Uisma Lima in the opening round of their WBA title eliminator at the Xfinity Mobile Arena.
Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) wasted no time, overwhelming Lima (14-2, 10 KOs) with blistering speed and sharp combinations. Two knockdowns came in quick succession before the referee waved it off at 1:58 of the first round. With the win, Ennis moves one step closer to a world title shot in his new division.
Watch the official fight highlights: Watch
On the undercard, Italy’s Guido Vianello (14-3-1, 12 KOs) knocked out Canada’s Alexis Barriere (12-1, 10 KOs) in the fifth round to claim the vacant WBC Continental Americas heavyweight title. Philadelphia’s Tahmir Smalls (16-0, 11 KOs) earned a unanimous decision over Puerto Rico’s Jose Roman Vazquez (14-2, 6 KOs) for the WBA Continental North America welterweight belt, scoring a knockdown in the third round.
In earlier bouts, Dennis Thompson (8-0, 5 KOs) edged Sean Diaz (9-1, 2 KOs) by split decision at super bantamweight, while Zaquin Moses (6-0) dominated Antonio Dunton El Jr. with a shutout points win. Giorgio Visioli (7-0) cruised to an 80–72 unanimous decision over James Wilkins, Harley Mederos (9-0, 8 KOs) stopped Hylon Williams Jr. after one round, and Naheem Parker (7-0) opened the card with a clean 60–54 victory against Justin Palmieri.
Watch the official full card highlights: Watch
Image Credit: Sky Sports