Where: Mohegan Sun Casino, Uncasville, CT

When: Saturday, April 10th, 9 PM EST / 6 PM PST

How To Watch: Showtime

Jaron “Boots” Ennis vs Sergey Lipinets

Odds: Highest 20-1 favorite for Ennis, Lowest 10-1 favorite for Ennis – Lipinets, Highest +926, Lowest +550

Weight class: 147 lbs, Welterweight

Jaron “Boots” Ennis (26-0, 24 KOs), is one of the emerging stars of the sport and reminds some pundits of Hall-of-Fame boxer Roy Jones Jr., yet his clash against former IBF super lightweight world champion Sergey Lipinets should explain a bit of the trajectory.

Ennis seems in line for a victory in this match-up as Ennis has the speed, power, and youth on his side despite Sergey being a tough veteran, who has accomplished more than most would’ve thought as a pro, coming up the hard way, and beating Lydell Rhodes, Levan Ghvamichava, and Leonardo Zappavigna, before getting a world title shot against Akihiro Kondo for the vacant IBF super lightweight world title, in November of 2017. Lipinets would lose that belt in his next bout to a returning Mikey Garcia and has had three notable fights since, stopping LaMont Peterson, a majority decision win against Erick Bone, and a draw in his last bout to Custio Clayton.

Lipinets is 32-years-old, but it is more than likely an older 32-years-old, that has a lot more miles than his age suggests as he was a kickboxer prior to boxing.

Ennis, is a 23-year old phenom, who punches as hard as Lipinets, but is incredibly fast, with amazing timing. Ennis’ last bout was against Chris van Heerden, in which the bout was waved off in one round after a head clash left van Heerden unable to continue. Prior to this bout, Ennis had been facing a slew of tough fighters on ShoBox: The Next Generation stopping Bakhtiyar Eyubov, Raymond Serrano, and undefeated Armando Alvarez.

Ennis is a massive favorite for a reason, as he appears to be heavily avoided as no one is currently calling him out (a tell-tale sign of a good fighter), and more than likely hasn’t even reached his prime. Lipinets is a tad on the older side, and been through some tough fights, as well, but is a game competitor, live in any fight based on his massive ability to punch.

The bout feels like an introduction of “Boots” Ennis to the general public.

Co-Main Event

Eimantas Stanionis vs Thomas Dulorme

Weight: 147, welterweight

Eimantas Stanionis (12-0, 9 KOs), is looking for the biggest win of his career against Thomas Dulorme in a fight I see as a true 50-50 fight despite oddsmakers having Dulorme a 7-1 underdog, and Stanionis a 10-1 favorite in some places.

So why is that?

I think the line largely has to do with Dulorme’s untapped potential, touted at one time by HBO as a future star, he was upset by Luis Carlos Abregu, a solid-rugged fighter who would get stopped by Sadam Ali in Abregu’s next fight. Dulorme would beat Karim Mayfield, Hank Lundy, Terrel Williams, and drew with Jessie Vargas while losing to Terence Crawford, Yordenis Ugas, and Jamal James. Dulorme has been the man that puts you in line for the elite of the division and never has been an easy fight for anyone, not even Crawford, a generational talent

Dulorme also has a five-inch reach advantage.

Stanionis is far from a slouch though, a 2016 Olympian, who trains at Freddie Roach’s Wild Card Boxing Gym, recently stepped up in competition-beating game contender Justin DeLoach (DeLoach was best known for his three-fight win streak over undefeated fighters, and then stopping Cristopher Pearson after that). Stanionis is an all-action fighter, and if Dulorme fights the wrong fight, which the oddsmakers are expecting due to Dulorme’s past issues, this could be a long night for him. Dulorme in the past has struggled with durable pressure that is tactical, and that is what Stanionis does do, and in tenfold

This comes down to how ready is Stanionis for this big moment on Showtime, and how much does Dulorme has left, as both fighters offer similar problems to one and another. I don’t feel comfortable.

Anything Else To Know

Jerwin Ancajas will be looking to make the ninth world title defense of his IBF super flyweight title against Jonathan Javier Rodriguez. Most notable is this Ancajas, first national televised fight, on a different platform than ESPN, as despite a fight in December in Mexico, Ancajas had spent most of the past years on Top Rank undercards, as this will be his debut on Showtime.

Off-TV: Featherweight Mark Magsayo, a fellow Filipino, like countryman Jerwin Ancajas, is a big puncher and should get a world title fight sometime soon. Rounding out the of card, Evander Holyfield’s son, Evan Holyfield will look for his sixth professional win, the young fighter is currently 5-0.