Rolando ‘Rolly’ Romero believes Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Terence Crawford are the same fighters with no differences in their game to pick a winner between them.
Ennis Faces Criticism, But Romero Disagrees
The 27-year-old ‘Boots’ Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) has taken a lot of criticism from boxing fans on social media for his performance last Saturday night, getting hit a lot by challenger David Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KOs), who he stopped in the fifth round to retain his IBF welterweight title at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Fans feel that Crawford did a better job, knocking out Avanesyan in the sixth round with a single shot two years ago on December 10, 2022, at the Chi Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska.
According to promoter Eddie Hearn, ‘Boots’ Ennis wasn’t pleased with his performance, feeling he could have done a better job defeating the 35-year-old Avanesyan because he got hit a lot in that fight in every round. Although Ennis dropped Avanesyan with a picture-perfect left hook counter in the fifth, he took a big shot moments before.
“They’re the exact same person. They’re the exact same fighter,” said Rolly Romero to Fighthype when asked about his thoughts on people saying Terence Crawford would beat Jaron ‘Boots Ennis.
If Crawford, 36, chooses never to fight ‘Boots’ Ennis, it doesn’t matter if the fans believe that he’s better than him. No one will ever know for sure. You can say that Crawford has never beaten anyone better than Ennis during his 16-year career.
Crawford’s best win came against Errol Spence Jr. after his two life-changing car crashes, 1.5 years of inactivity, weight gain, and age.
“I have no issues with Boots. I think he’s a tremendous fighter, but it’s the exact same thing as Crawford,” said Rolly.
“When was the last time Jaron Ennis been fighting against the odds? I know that Crawford fought against the odds a few times,” said Blair Cobbs to Fighthype when asked who wins a fight between Crawford and Ennis.
Crawford has never been in a fight where he wasn’t considered the favorite. He was seen as the favorite against these fighters:
Errol Spence
Shawn Porter
Amir Khan
Kell Brook
Jeff Horn
Viktor Postol
Jose Benavidez Jr.
Thomas Dulorme
Yuriorkis Gamboa
Ricky Burns
David Avanesyan
Egidijus Kavaliauskas
Ray Beltran
Ennis’ Lack of 50-50 Fights and the Impact on His Career
“When was the last time he [Boots Ennis] was in a 50-50 fight? This fight that he fought [against David Avanesyan] was nowhere near a 50-50 fight,” said Blair. “That’s the reason I’m out here calling him [Ennis] out. What happens when he hits the deck? He’ll hit the deck.”
Ennis hasn’t been around long enough to be in 50-50 fights. When he tried to get fights against Crawford and Errol Spence, they ignored him and moved up to 154. Shawn Porter retired, and none of the other welterweights have any talent or interest in fighting Boots.
“There will be things that he won’t see coming. There will be things he won’t be able to counter,” said Blair. “I can manipulate and control his foot movement because some people are faster foot-wise. We’ll see more things questioned when Crawford gets in the ring with him if Crawford gets in the ring with him.
“Crawford is very consistent. He deals with some of the same problems, but I think Ennis is a little bit stronger and maybe a little bit faster. But then you’ve got someone with a little more experience and has a different mentality,” said Cobbs about Terence Crawford.
The inactivity and resume for Crawford make it difficult to predict how he’ll react in a fight against Boots Ennis because he’s going to get hit a lot, and this isn’t going to be a situation where he’ll be facing an opponent that is ring-rusty, weight-drained and dragging himself back from car wrecks.
Crawford’s Avoidance Raises Questions
The fact that Crawford doesn’t want to fight Ennis tells you all you need to know. He doesn’t believe he can beat him because if he did, he’d have stayed at welterweight and fought him.
“He won’t fall into certain things, but he’ll make a person fall into certain things with that mentality,” said Blair. “He’s very poised. You have to checkmate him. That’s the reason I called out Crawford. I know how he thinks. So, I know how to checkmate him.”
Crawford’s Past Success Might Not Matter Against Ennis
Whatever Crawford did in the past means nothing in a fight against Boots Ennis because it was long ago, and he did it against weak opposition that doesn’t compare to Jaron.
“There are things that he will never change. He never got better. He just consistently did the same thing, and other guys fell off,” said Blair.
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