Jaron Ennis wants to be ‘a mega superstar’ in his homecoming fight against David Avanesyan

This weekend is a homecoming for Philly boxer Jaron Ennis, and when the 27-year-old walks out to a crowd of more than 13,000 fans inside the Wells Fargo Center on Saturday night, he wants to put on a show for his city.

“This means everything,” Ennis told The Inquirer on Thursday before a news conference. “It’s a blessing to fight at the Wells Fargo Center. ... It’s wonderful — this is the start of it all right here. The start to take me to the top ... a mega superstar.”

The Germantown native nicknamed “Boots” (31-0, 28 knockouts) will defend his IBF welterweight title against 35-year-old David Avanesyan (30-4-1, 18 KOs) of Russia. The fight will be the first world title fight in South Philly since Bernard Hopkins defended his middleweight crown in 2003 at the Spectrum.

» READ MORE: Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to defend his title against David Avaneysan in Philly

Ennis, a rising star who is trained by his father, Bozy Ennis, was originally slated to make his 147-pound title defense against Cody Crowley. But in early June, the Canadian fighter was removed from the bout after failing an eye examination. Despite the late change of opponent, Ennis said his approach has remained the same.

“The switch doesn’t really mean anything to me,” he said. “We do everything, we [train against] every type of an opponent, because you never know what the other guy is going to do.

“Every style is different, every person is different, I take every fight the same: Every fight that I have, I’m just trying to better myself, improve in different things, and push myself harder every camp.”

Ennis became champion in November when Terence Crawford was stripped of the crown after failing to make a mandatory title defense. Ennis last fought last July, a 10th-round knockout of Roiman Villa in Atlantic City.

In April, Eddie Hearn, a British promoter, signed Ennis to a multi-fight deal with Matchroom Boxing.

“It’s no secret of how good this kid is,” Hearn said. “I’ve watched him and knew if we could get him, it would be massive for our company. … One thing I’m big believer in is building people in their home cities — this is a great fighting city. We’ve got a captivating audience, all these incredible arenas around the city. The first thing that I wanted to do was bring him home.

“We’re going to have 13,000-plus in here on Saturday night. It’s going to be absolutely wild. Boots is special, and I think if he puts on a special performance, the next time we’ll be back at the Wells Fargo Center, we’ll fill the whole thing up.”

» READ MORE: Is Philly still a boxing town? We’ll find out in July when Jaron Ennis fights at the Wells Fargo Center

Ennis, who graduated from Walter B. Saul High School in Roxborough, has embraced the pressure. He’s looking forward to the environment, which he envisions will be like Powerhouse, a hip-hop and R&B concert held in the arena by local radio station Power 99 FM.

“It feels good to put Philly on my back and put on a show,” Ennis said. “I’m just chilling, I feel good. I’m glad to be fighting at home. It’s going to be a beautiful show.”

Ennis’ prediction for the fight is a knockout, although he says he isn’t going to look for it. He wants to be patient and smart, but get the job done in the end.

“It’s not going to pass four rounds,” Bozy Ennis said. “Maybe it’ll be five; then again it all depends on how he feels. We have fun when we box, that’s what we do. We have fun doing it and if you don’t have fun doing it, don’t do it.”

The fight card includes six other matches; Christopher Diaz vs. Christian Carto (bantamweights), Kwame Ritter vs. Khalil Coe (light heavyweights), Dyana Vargas vs. Skye Nicolson (who holds the WBC featherweight title), Dennis Thompson vs. Fernando Valdez (featherweights), Ismail Muhammad vs. Frank Brown (welterweights), and Peter Dobson vs. Jalil Hackett (welterweights).

There’s much anticipation about the co-featured fight between Dobson and Hackett. The two bantered and shoved each other during their face-off. The 21-year-old Hackett (8-0, seven KOs) will be put to the test against Dobson, who at 34 has more professional experience (16-1-0, nine KOs).

Ennis hopes Saturday will spark a rebirth of boxing in South Philly.

“I’m going to thrive here,” Ennis said. “I’m going to have fun. I’m comfortable. It’s like I’m at home lying on the couch with my feet up. It’s going to be a great show.”