The newly crowned WBA/WBO 154-pound champion mostly dominated a younger, bigger, unbeaten opponent, produced three knockdowns and became champion in a second division. The defensive lapse that led to him getting caught “with a good shot” in the third round and too often loading up on one power punch at a time still left Ennis unfulfilled after one of the two most noteworthy wins of his 10-year professional career.

“My performance today? I gotta go back and watch it,” Ennis said during his post-fight press conference. “I would probably give myself probably like a C, though. I know I’m way better than that. Like a C+. I’m way better than that.”

Ennis sent Zayas to the canvas once apiece in the first, fifth and seventh rounds before the former champion’s trainer, Javiel Centeno, asked referee Harvey Dock to stop their fan-friendly fight in the seventh round at Barclays Center in Brooklyn. Derek “Bozy” Ennis, Jaron’s father and trainer, scolded him in their corner after Zayas hit him with a right hand that made Ennis stumble backward in the third round.

“I was listening to the corner a little bit, not too much,” Ennis said. “You know, they was telling me to do speed and I was [throwing] one-shot [at a time]. You know, it’s the shots you don’t see … I shoulda been using a little bit more speed, but everything is gonna be good. You know, we gonna go back to the lab and get ready, you know, and take over this division, sharpen up.”

The brief difficulty Ennis experienced in the third round drew a viral reaction from fans and media who hadn’t seen the immensely talented fighter from Philadelphia deal with any noticeable adversity in the ring. Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs, 1 NC) contended that he wasn’t hurt and remained “calm, cool and collected” as Zayas (23-1, 13 KOs) tried to capitalize on knocking him off balance with just under 1:40 on the clock in the third round.

That sequence nevertheless provided the 29-year-old former Ring, IBF and WBA welterweight champ with a reminder that he needs to get back in the gym and “work on everything” as he attempts to enhance his legacy.

“It’s me having little lazy moments and just not like, you know, being sharp, how I’m supposed to be,” Ennis said. “I gotta get out of that habit, just little lazy moments, and we gonna go work on that in the gym, you know, and fix those things.”