Coach Stephen Edwards says the fighters now want to face Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis because they saw what Karen Chukhadzhian did to him in their two fights and feel that they can exploit the holes in his game.
Chukhadzhian Exposed Boots
Stephen thinks Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) is “too bloodthirsty” because he’s always looking for knockouts, which makes him vulnerable in his fights. We saw that in Ennis’ two fights against Chukhadzhian, David Avanesyan, and Roiman Villa. He was below average in those fights and got hit a lot.
Edwards feels that if Boots can change his fighting style to implement more boxing, he’ll be okay. However, he’s trained by his dad, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, and he’s known for pushing his fighters to be more aggressive, going on the attack, looking to have the score knockouts.
It’s unlikely that Bozy Ennis will have his son change his fighting style to be less aggressive because that’s not the approach that he teaches. We saw how Bozy was pushing 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz to be more aggressive in his last fight against Antonio Moran, and he was staggered early.
If Cruz had just used his normal slick fighting style, he’d have schooled Moran without this guy laying a glove on him, but he was being pushed to pressure the bigger fighter.
“Teofimo Lopez is a special talent, but I don’t know how he’s going to look at 147 pounds. He’s kind of short [5’8″],” said coach Stephen Edwards to YSM Sports Media when asked how Teofimo Lopez would do if he were to move up to welterweight to take on the lions in that weight class.
“He’s kind of hot and cool. I thought he struggled against Jamaine Ortiz and the other guy [Sandor Martin?], and then he looked good against Josh Taylor. So, it’s hard to say with a dude like that. I think he’s going to do good under [trainer] Eddy Reynoso kind of does good with guys with his body type.
“He did good with Oscar Valdez and did great with Canelo Alvarez. So, I expect him to do good with Eddy Reynoso. I think he [Teofimo] could possibly beat [WBC welterweight champion Mario] Barrios. I like Barrios. This is nothing personal against him, but he’s had some tough fights. He’s probably not as physically talented as the other guys.”
Teofimo At Welterweight
The size isn’t the problem that Teofimo would have if he moved up and fought welterweights. It’s more of a case of Teofimo lacking ring IQ, being unable to handle pressure well, and having a bad habit of fighting with his back against the ropes. He’s mostly gotten away with his poor ring IQ due to his size at 140 and 135. But if he moved to 147, he wouldn’t have his size to help him, and he’d be food for almost any of the welterweights.
“So, I think Teofimo might beat Barrios, but I don’t know what he would do against the other guys,” said Stephen. “There was talk of him fighting Brian Norman, but I’m not sure what would happen, but I was looking forward to that fight. That would have been a good fight.
“I think Boots is too big for Teofimo Lopez. The Jamaine Ortiz fight. If Boots just boxed him and used his jab, he’d be too big for him. I think the guys want to fight Boots now because of the two decisions with Karen [Chukhadzhian]. He’s fighting with a kind of bloodthirsty style, trying to knock everybody out, and they see some holes in that,” said Stephen about Ennis.
Boots would have too much ability for Teofimo if they were to fight, and it wouldn’t be a good matchup for Teo. That’s not to say that he wouldn’t have his moments and potentially win. He would do well at times, but it would be a really hard fight for him.
“In boxing, they see a flaw. All a fighter has to do is struggle in a fight, and everybody wants to fight them. I feel if those things could be corrected if he just gets back to his boxing. I think Teofimo is a little too small for Boots,” said Stephen.
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