‘Boots’ Told To Stay Busy: ‘The World Needs To Know Who Jaron Ennis Is’
Former world champions turned boxing analysts Timothy Bradley Jr and Chris Algieri have both urged Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to stay active and prove he is the best fighter in the welterweight division.
Ennis (32-0-0 29 KO) ended one year of inactivity with an explosive return to the ring last Saturday, stopping the experienced David Avanesyan (30-4-1 18 KO) in the fifth round of their bout in Philadelphia.
The victory, while far from perfect as Ennis absorbed several shots from his opponent, only boosted claims that the IBF champion is the next big star of the 147lbs division.
Bradley, a former two-weight world champion, is convinced there is a lot more to come from Ennis and attributed his ring-rust to the 12 months he spent not fighting.
“As far as excitement goes … as far as his combinations, stamina, the athleticism, everything … the kid is brilliant, man. Let’s give him his flowers,” Bradley said on the latest episode of ProBox TV’s ‘Deep Waters’.
Ennis ‘Is Brilliant, Man’
“Everyone’s criticizing his performance because he got hit a whole helluva lot. When you’re out of the ring so long because nobody wants to fight you, that’s what’s going to happen: You’re going to get a little rusty.
“The reason no one wants to face the young ‘Boots’ Ennis is because they see what I see,” Bradley added. “He is a problem for anyone in the division. It’s why everyone continues to run from him.”
After 32 fights and having built a reputation as a potential mega star, Ennis may be highly respected and hugely popular within boxing and his hometown of Philadelphia but is far from a household name.
The quickest way to fix that is for Ennis to get back in the ring as soon as realistically possible and fight his fellow welterweight champions; Mario Barrios has the WBC title and Eimantas Stannionis holds a version of the WBA belt, while Brian Norman Jr is the WBO’s interim champion.
“He needs to be busy. The world needs to know who Jaron Ennis is – not just us, not just the die-hards,” Algieri said. “As he collects these belts, he’s going to become a household name. He’s very exciting and he hasn’t fought anyone who worries him.”
However, the fight that would do more for Ennis’ profile than any other would be against the division’s former undisputed champion Terence Crawford.
‘Bud’, the first male fighter to become undisputed in two weight classes following his dominant win over Errol Spence Jr last July, has since moved up to 154lbs in pursuit of a world title in a third weight class. He faces WBA super-welterweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3.
Crawford Mega-Fight Soon?
Crawford’s move to super-welterweight resulted in him vacating some of his belts, which elevated Ennis from interim to full IBF champion. The same scenario played out for Barrios and Stannionis, while Norman is also expected to be elevated if Crawford remains at 154 permanently.
It means a showdown between Ennis and Crawford is more likely to happen in the heavier division, and Saudi Arabian boxing supremo Turki Alalshikh, who is now centrally involved in Crawford’s career, has already stated his matchmaking intentions.
Ennis recently revealed that his plan is to move to super-welterweight once he has claimed all the belts at 147lbs, while his promoter Eddie Hearn insisted they are very interested in the Crawford fight.
However, Bradley expressed his concerns about whether Crawford even wants to fight Ennis, believing his refusal to enter negotiations suggests he has no interest in facing ‘Boots’.
“I guess they [Team Crawford] didn’t want to negotiate with ‘Boots.’ ‘Boots’ has been after Crawford for some time now. He wants all that smoke,” Bradley said.
“It seems like Crawford is being just like Spence was to him: you’re hearing the same excuses from the Crawford team. Is [Ennis] ready for Crawford? Yes, he’s ready right now for Terence Crawford. Athletic, long, big, can switch to southpaw. The only thing that’s different is how to control the fight. Crawford’s the best at that. ‘Boots’ takes a lot more risks and punches harder.”
