Harrisburg, PA – Pennsylvania will again host high-caliber professional boxing when unbeaten Philadelphia native Jaron “Boots” Ennis makes his World Boxing Association (WBA) Super Welterweight debut to cap an evening of fights on Oct. 11 at Philly’s Xfinity Mobile Arena (previously Wells Fargo Center), the Department of State’s State Athletic Commission (SAC) announced.
The Ennis vs. Uisma Lima fight is the latest in a continuing string of successful and exciting events overseen by SAC, which is responsible for licensing and medically clearing participating fighters, licensing corner persons, and assigning licensed referees, inspectors, judges, timekeepers, and doctors for sports like professional boxing, MMA, and kickboxing/Muay-Tai.
“The State Athletic Commission staff continues its hard work to help bring and oversee exciting contact sport events to Pennsylvania,” Secretary of the Commonwealth Al Schmidt said. “The fights featuring Philly’s own Jaron Ennis have already proven to be monumentally successful, and I am looking forward to his next big boxing match.”
Ennis, who brings a 34-0 career record into next month’s bout, officially relinquished his International Boxing Federation (IBF) welterweight title in July in order to move up a weight class. His super welterweight debut will come against Lima (14-1), an Angolan fighter making his United States debut who currently holds the International Boxing Organization (IBO) title.
Ennis successfully defended an IBF welterweight title twice at Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia last year, defeating David Avanesyan in July and then Karen Chukhadzhian in November. Both bouts drew significant international interest and shined a spotlight on Pennsylvania’s rapidly growing professional boxing aspirations.
“At 154 pounds, super welterweight is where all the opportunities lie for Boots,” said SAC Executive Director Ed Kunkle. “Even though this isn’t for a title, Jaron is pound for pound one of the top five fighters in boxing, and Matchroom Boxing has been very happy with his last two events, which were regulated by the SAC in Philadelphia.”
While these fights generate a lot of interest and economic impact for Pennsylvania, Kunkle noted SAC has been involved in a lot more than professional boxing recently.
For example, Xfinity Mobile Arena will again host a Bare Knuckle Fighting Championship (BKFC) event in early 2026 after generating huge success with KnuckleMania V earlier this year.
ONE Championship, among the world’s largest martial arts organizations, is projected to bring its first championship of 2026 to Pennsylvania.
SAC has also been working with ISKA (International Sport Karate Association) and USKA (United States Karate Association), which regulate amateur boxing in Pennsylvania, as well as Invicta Fighting Championships, which promotes women’s MMA, on bringing events to the Commonwealth. Pennsylvania is also home to the Philadelphia Smoke, champions of the Team Combat League, the nation’s first and only boxing league with a team-based ownership model. The Smoke hosts bouts at the 2300 Arena in Philly.
SAC’s coordination with these organizations is in addition to Pennsylvania regularly hosting professional wrestling events via the WWE, AEW (All Elite Wrestling), and other organizations.
Kunkle also noted that SAC has been working with promoters to hold events in new areas of Pennsylvania and to return to areas that haven’t hosted events in a while. Two examples, he said, are a Pro-Am Kickboxing event on Sept. 20 in Hamburg, Berks County, and a professional boxing event at Mohegan Sun Arena in Wilkes-Barre in November.
“This is by design,” Kunkle said of increased contact sport activity across all regions of Pennsylvania. “We are working with promoters and organizations to familiarize or re-familiarize them with cities and areas of our Commonwealth they haven’t been or haven’t been in years. We’re looking forward to continued growth and bringing more entertainment and economic benefit to all corners of the state.”