Jaron “Boots” Ennis navigated the deepest waters of his professional career before stopping Xander Zayas on Saturday night in a wildly entertaining scrap to capture the WBA and WBO super-welterweight titles and become a two-division world champion.
The unbeaten Ennis knocked Zayas down three times and fought through a heart-stopping third-round crisis before referee Harvey Dock halted the bout at 1:49 of the seventh round in front of an announced sellout crowd at Barclays Center, giving the Philadelphia native the signature victory that had eluded him despite years of being regarded as one of boxing’s brightest talents.
