Jaron Ennis might be the best blue blood talent on the American boxing scene. The question is if he’s ever going to get a chance to prove it against another top fighter.

The undefeated welterweight from Philadelphia has made short work of his opponents, impressing observers with his rare combination of power and speed. Now, it’s gotten to the point where fans are wondering if he’ll face somebody who’ll actually hit back.

Well, if it was up to the 23-year-old Ennis, he’d fight the likes of Terrence Crawford, Manny Pacquiao, and Errol Spence, the three current welterweight titleholders, in a heartbeat. But he also recognizes that he carries a low profile and thus does not fit anywhere in the perpetual risk-reward calculus that governs most boxing decisions.

In other words, he’s all risk, no reward.

“As everybody can see, it’s not my fault,” Ennis said on The Last Stand Podcast. “We’re trying to get these top guys, these step-up fights. From what I’m hearing and seeing, these guys don’t want to get in the ring with me because they’re asking for a bunch of money. Right now all I can do is keep winning, keep bettering myself, and when the day comes to get my world title shot, I’ll be focused, sharp, on point, ready mentally and physically to get that world title around my waist.”

For that day to come Ennis (25-0, 23 KOs) will have to take care of immediate business on September 19 when he takes on the Dominican Republic’s Juan Carlos Abreu (23-5-1, 21 KOs) on the Erickson Lubin-Terrell Gausha card at the Mohegan Sun in Uncasville, Conn. This will be Ennis’ first fight since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Ennis’ last outing in the ring was in January, a breezy fourth-round knockout of Bakhtiyar Eyubov. How has Ennis handled his opposition thus far? In his past 15 fights he has not gone beyond the fourth round. All of which reminds him of the hardline political reality of the sport. Ennis feels that his best chance of linking up with Spence or Crawford or Pacquiao is to work his way up the rickety ratings stepladder of the sanctioning bodies.

“I feel like I’m going to be their last resort,” Ennis said. “It’s going to get to a point where I have to be their mandatory and they have to be forced to fight me. That’s the only way.

“The last two years have been hard,” Ennis added. “That’s why I had to fight guys like in my last fight, but like I said there’s nothing I can do. All I gotta do is keep running, keep staying focused.

"I’m young, I’m only 23 years old. The longer they wait, the worse it’s going to get for them.”