Jaron Ennis vs Roiman Villa headlines July 8th Showtime card in Atlantic City

Two of boxing’s best young welterweights will be in action on July 8th, and in true boxing fashion, odds are viewers will have to choose one or the other. Jaron “Boots” Ennis announced yesterday that he’ll make his ring return that day at Atlantic City’s Borgata Casino, with Keith Idec, Dan Rafael, and others reporting that he’ll face Roiman Villa in a Showtime main event.

Unless the relevant parties elect to stagger the main events like ESPN+ and DAZN did last week, that means going head to head with Eimantas Stanionis vs Vergil Ortiz Jr.

It’s a shame, because this figures to be a banger. Ennis’ (30-0, 27 KO) lengthy knockout streak came to an end last January when he settled for a decision against Karen Chukhadzhian, but you could chalk that up to a tricky stylistic matchup with a crafty technician. Venezuela’s Villa (26-1, 24 KO) presents no such puzzle; he’s as aggressive and heavy-handed as his record would suggest, and that approach carried him past unbeaten A-sides Janelson Bocachica and Rashidi Ellis.

Hard to see this developing into anything other than a balls-out slugfest.