Brian Norman Jr., the WBO welterweight champion, still hopes for a unification fight between him and IBF champ Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to be made next.
Norman Jr. (26-0, 20 KOs) says he wants the fight and doesn’t know why Boots Ennis’s team says they never got the counteroffer. He says Boots’ dad, Dereck ‘Bozy’ Ennis, told him they wanted to save the fight between them for the undisputed. In other words, he wants to save it for last after Boots has collected the other two belts.
Hearn’s Push for the Fight
Boots’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, wants the fight between them now, and he needs that to keep his fighter’s fighter’s career moving. Without the Norman unification, Boots will be stuck defending against his IBF mandatory Karen Chukhadzhian.
“His punches were a lot stiffer. I’m going to call it power then. His punches were a lot stiffer. They’re not just going to bounce off you. They’re going to punch through something. I’m going to say Tank. He did have more power,” said Brian Norman to the Cigar Talk YouTube channel about Gervonta ‘Tank’ Davis’ punches being harder than Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis during their sparring sessions.
Norman Jr. says the sparring with Gervonta and Boots Ennis occurred three years ago. Given how long ago that was, you can’t take much from it. Did Boots load up on his shots during the sparring session the way Tank did? There’s no way of knowing that.
“That’s the way it’s supposed to go. Sparring is pretty much like a fight. It’s just no winner or loser in the occasions,” said Norman Jr., about whether Tank Davis was throwing with maximum power during his sparring with him.
Norman Jr’s Prediction for The Fight
“I feel like it’s going to be a fight because he likes to throw a lot of punches, and I like to throw a lot of punches. I think it’s going to be right there in the pocket pretty much,” said Norman Jr. when asked how a fight between him and Boots Ennis plays out.
Norman is right about how a fight between him and Boots would likely play out because that’s how both guys tend to fight. Ennis isn’t letting Norman tag him with shots like his last opponent, Giovani Santillan, did in May.
“That’s the only way I can win. There’s nobody on my side, not even the judges,” said Norman Jr. when asked if he believes he can stop Boots Ennis. “I’m not signing the contract with 12 rounds. I’m signing the contract for a knockout because I know for a fact that I will lose on those cards.”
A fight between them will likely not go to the scorecards anyway. That’s how these guys fight, and there will be a lot of fans watching live, which will make them both throw with maximum power.
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