Shields vs Habazin results: Jaron Ennis stays undefeated with thrashing of Bakhtiyar Eyubov

Jaron “Boots” Ennis kept the hype train rolling tonight, largely having his way with a stubborn but outclasses Bakhtiyar Eyubov en route to a fourth round referee stoppage in Atlantic City.

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Ennis (25-0, 23 KO), a 22-year-old welterweight blue chipper from Philadelphia, blitzed Eyubov (14-2-1, 12 KO) right off the bat, scoring a pair of first round knockdowns and throwing a ton of punches trying to end things early.

But Kazakhstan’s Eyubov was rugged and determined to get in the fight, and Ennis had to slow down some from that early pace, giving Eyubov some chances to get some shots in, which he did. Ennis took them well, and also picked his return fire exceptionally well, continuing to win the fight pretty handily.

Between the third and fourth rounds, the commission warned Eyubov, 33, that he was on a short leash, and the bout was stopped early in the fourth when referee Earl Brown stepped in, arguably a bit early, but commissions are being more careful, and it’s hard to argue.

“He was a good fighter, but he wasn’t really that strong,” Ennis said after the fight. “I was getting hit a little too much, but we wanted to get that knockout.”

“He was taking a lot of punishment,” Ennis said of the stoppage. “He was a great fighter, though. I appreciate him taking the fight because a lot of guys don’t want to fight me. I learned to stay more relaxed. When a guy’s pressuring you like that, you’ve gotta stay relaxed, you can’t get too hyped.”

Asked when he feels he’ll be ready to face a top contender, Ennis spoke confidently. “I’ve been ready. I’ve been ready since I was about 18-0. We’ve been wanting the top guys. You can’t keep running. I’m right here.”