It didn’t come against one of the 147-pound champs we wanted to see Ennis challenge during his rise through the rankings. But after his tantalizing talent teased us for so many years, Ennis dominated Eimantas Stanionis so easily 14 months ago it seemed all the praise supporters spoke and wrote about him were justified.

The poised Philadelphia native dismantled The Ring’s No. 2-ranked welterweight with such impeccable precision and ruthlessness, Ennis appeared prepared to claim his rightful spot on pound-for-pounds lists.

Squeezing himself down to 147 pounds became unhealthy, however, thus Ennis relinquished his Ring, IBF and WBA titles a year ago.

Ennis insisted on a tune-up fight to get accustomed to the junior middleweight division and inadvertently halted his momentum. It resulted in a first-round knockout of overmatched Uisma Lima on October 11, which essentially wasted another eight months of his career and pushed back his long-discussed showdown with rival Vergil Ortiz.

It looked like Ennis would fight him next, after Ortiz knocked out Erickson Lubin in the second round November 8. They went face to face in the ring that night and assured boxing fans they would get the fight they wanted to see for a few years.

Ortiz instead sued Golden Boy Promotions for breach of contract, which temporarily eliminated the meaningful fight Ennis wanted most as an option.

Ennis, who turned 29 on Friday, was pleasantly surprised when Xander Zayas embraced their fight Saturday night at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. The unbeaten WBA/WBO champ could’ve taken an easier assignment after defeating Abass Baraou (17-2, 9 KOs) and unifying titles January 31, and left Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) in the familiar position of accepting another insignificant fight he didn’t want.

With expectations so high and no more time to waste, it’s incumbent upon Ennis to respond by producing a Stanionis-esque performance on his way to becoming champion in a second weight class.

Even Eddie Hearn, Ennis’ hyperbolic promoter, admitted to The Ring that winning a comfortable decision the main event DAZN will stream worldwide won’t suffice. As a 5-1 favorite, he must make a statement comparable to the one he made when he stopped a then-unbeaten Stanionis (16-1, 9 KOs) after six one-sided rounds in April 2025.

“I was talking to Bob Arum earlier and he was telling me the most incredible stories about Sugar Ray Leonard, Hearns, Hagler,” Hearn said during their press conference Thursday at Barclays Center. “Well, this is one of those guys. What you’re about to see on Saturday night is one of the greatest performances from an American fighter that I think you’ve ever witnessed. I cannot tell you the excitement that exists within the team, the smile that has been on [Ennis'’] face all week because this is the moment. This is the moment that he’s dreamed of his whole life, to show you and show everybody in the world how great he is.”

Zayas (23-0, 13 KOs) is ranked No. 3 among The Ring’s junior middleweights, two spots ahead of Ennis.

If Ennis delivers again, Hearn is certain he will earn his place among the best fighters in the sport. Ennis understandably believes he belongs at the very top of pound-for-pound lists.

He won’t assume that top spot by beating Zayas, yet it would add another victory over an unbeaten champion to his resume.

“It’s only the beginning because he’s racing all the way to pound-for-pound number one of the sport,” Hearn said. “But Saturday is just the beginning to show the world how great he is. And again, no disrespect to Xander Zayas — what a fighter. [They’re] 58-0 between these two. But on Saturday night you’re gonna see the future of the sport of boxing. This is gonna be one of the most clinical, brutal displays we’ve ever witnessed.”

Ennis expects to knock out Zayas, who thinks his versatile, powerful opponent is overrated and underestimating him.

“They gonna be like, ‘Man, this kid is amazing,’” Ennis said. "'We've never seen nothing like it.’ I feel like these guys can’t do what I do and they don’t carry it out how I carry it. And I'm a show the world there’s like really levels.”

■ Jahi Tucker versus Euri Cedeno could emerge as the most competitive of the four fights DAZN will stream globally as part of the main portion of the Zayas-Ennis event. The Brooklyn-bred Tucker (16-1-1, 7 KOs), who is slightly favored by most sportsbooks, clearly cannot afford another loss if he is to eventually fight for a middleweight title. The Dominican Republic’s Cedeno (14-0-1, 12 KOs) has displayed promise. The active, tough Tucker, however, is the best opponent the 2021 Olympian has agreed to fight since he turned pro in October 2022.

■ A grown man dressing up like Popeye — sailor hat, pipe and all — doesn’t necessarily inspire confidence. Richard Rivera (27-2, 20 KOs) should still at least give Ben Whittaker rounds in the unbeaten British light heavyweight’s U.S. debut on the Zayas-Ennis undercard. The 2021 Olympic silver medalist’s past three fights have lasted less than four rounds combined, which makes it difficult to truly know how much Whittaker (11-0-1, 8 KOs) has improved overall since neck and ankle injuries during his controversial, six-round technical split draw with Liam Cameron 19 months ago. Stopping Cameron in the second round of their immediate rematch was impressive, but neither Ben Gavazi nor Braian Suarez offered any real resistance in Whittaker’s two first-round knockouts over the past six months. Rivera hasn’t been knocked out.

■ It has been overshadowed this week by Zayas-Ennis and Floyd Mayweather’s mounting problems, but the Jose Valenzuela-Edwin De Los Santos rematch is the most compelling main event Zuffa Boxing has scheduled since it launched five months ago. Their 10-round junior welterweight bout, which Paramount+ will stream Sunday night from Meta APEX in Las Vegas, is Valenzuela’s chance to avenge his third-round knockout loss in September 2022. Their back-and-forth firefight featured three knockdowns, including two for De Los Santos (17-2, 15 KOs), who overcame a second-round knockdown to finish a then-unbeaten Valenzuela (15-3, 9 KOs) in Los Angeles.