Terence Crawford gave welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis a mini-pep talk on X, trying to cheer him up after his scare against IBF mandatory Karen Chukhadzhian last Saturday night in Philadelphia.
Crawford was essentially saying that life will be brutal and hard for Boots Ennis when he moves up to 154 to start facing the killers in that weight class, as he mentioned wanting to do last Saturday night at the post-fight press conference.
Ennis’ career could hit rock bottom when he takes on talented fighters at junior middleweight. Unfortunately, it won’t be the same nice situation Boots has had at 147, feasting on non-punchers and fighters with mid-range boxing skills.
IBF welterweight champion Ennis defeated Chukhadzhian by a 12-round unanimous decision in their rematch, but the fight was more than he or his fans had expected.
Boots Looked Lost & Confused
Ennis had repeatedly said during interviews during the fight build-up, “I’m going to have my fun,” and that he would be knocking Chukhadzhian out this time.
It turned out to be a near-disaster for Boots, as it was met with a more powerful, aggressive, and talented version of Chukhadzhian this time that was different from the fighter he’d beaten last year on January 7th.
Ennis and his dad/trainer, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, didn’t know what to do. Bozy sounded like a broken record in the corner, barking, “Just get him out of there,” but without giving any sound instructions. Bozy was no help for Boots, but there was really no advice he could give him to help his situation.
Ennis was out of his league, fighting Chukhadzhian, who possessed technical skills that he could not deal with. Boots’s training during his career was too basic to match a fighter as gifted as Chukhadzhian.
Both were utterly confused, like they’d their senses completely and didn’t know what to do. The Ukrainian talent, Chukhadzhian, had Ennis’ game all figured out, making him look like a rudimentary fighter the entire night, taking away the crowd and stealing the show.
Chukhadzhian appeared to have worked on his power game in training for the rematch, and he was a completely different animal this time. Boots wasn’t ready for this kind of power, aggression, and talent from Chukhadzhian, who had schooled him from A to B all night.
Ennis won because Chukhadzhian lacked combination punching, held too much, and gave too little ground. In a trilogy match, you’d have to favor Chukhadzhian because he would retool his game and have all three areas fixed.
Crawford Advises Boots to Work on Craft
The former four-division world champion Crawford rallied behind the beleaguered Ennis (33-0, 29 KOs) after his dreadful performance against Chukadzhian (24-3, 13 KOs) at the Wells Fargo Center, telling him, “Stay on your mission. Never get comfortable.”
Crawford found out how things would be much different for his career after he moved up to 154 and barely beat WBA champion Israil Madrimov by a 12-round unanimous decision on August 3rd. How can one drowning man save another?
Crawford has seemingly lost all desire to pursue the undisputed championship at 154 after his life-and-death battle against Madrimov. So, he’s the last one to give Ennis any kind of helpless advice other than to warn him about moving up to uncharted territory.
Ennis had been calling out Crawford, wanting a fight against him, but after last night, no one would take him seriously anymore. He can forget about that fight forever after last night. Now, it’s more about Boots saving his career by deciding which direction to go.
Crawford didn’t advise whether Ennis should stay at 147 or move up to 154 to take on the sharks in that weight class. If you were to read between the lines, Crawford’s message suggests that Ennis should stay at 147 and continue to pad his resume on the mudfish at the bottom of the ocean rather than go up to 154.
@JaronEnnis I did see the fight, but I heard about it. Stay focused and keep working on your craft. Every nights not going to be the same. Never get to comfortable in this game, if you trying to get to the mecca of the sport. Stay on your mission because all it takes is 1 slip up
— Terence Crawford (@terencecrawford) November 10, 2024
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