For a good many fight fans, Jaron “Boots” Ennis is the hottest, most talented, and exciting young welterweight out there today. Indeed, so far in his 31-0 pro career, the man from Philadelphia has shown us a whole lot of the good stuff we so admire in any fighter: speed, power, ring IQ, chin, desire, toughness….. and desire.
As in Boots has a desire to fight the very best. That leads us to current 147 pound king, and you may add the reigning pound-for-pound king, Terence Crawford. This talked of the fight and the idea of it, between the reigning master and the young stud, has got plenty of us in a lather. Yet it won’t happen. Probably.
Crawford, who spoke as a guest on The Breakfast Club, said that a fight between himself and the unbeaten 26-year-old is a “lose-lose” proposition for him. Now, before anyone has the temerity to hurl the “D” word at “Bud,” hear him out:
“Listen, right now in my career, a lotta people [are] like, Boots this, Boots that, Boots this, you know? Fighting [Jaron] Boots [Ennis] is a lose-lose situation. [If] I win they gonna say, ‘Oh, well, he was young. He wasn’t ready.’ Me fighting Boots would be like, ‘Ok, well, you beat Boots.’ It’s not a mega-fight…I’m looking for big challenges. I’m trying to go up in weight and fight [Jermell] Charlo, because that’s something that’s something history in the making. It’s a lot at stake. You know, there’s nothing really at stake with [me] fighting Boots.”
Crawford IS on a whole other level right now, the 35-year-old having conquered three weight divisions, with him coming off that commandingly brutal win over Errol Spence, and with Crawford still looking for more belts and adding additional pounds so as to win them. Sure, a Crawford-Ennis fight would be a whole lot of fascinating, but Crawford has earned the right to fight who he wants, to pick and choose the fights that he feels will add most to his legacy.
As of right now, as special a talent as Boots Ennis is, it’s tough to argue with Crawford, 40-0(31) when he says a fight with Boots would leave him in a no-win situation: Win and the critics (don’t ya just love ’em) would no doubt say that Boots was not yet proven at absolute elite level. Lose the fight, and Crawford would lose, well, a heck of a lot.
Risk can lead to true greatness for all fighters, but reward is also important. Some fighters, the already proven to be great, at the top of their game fighters, earn the right to demand fights that offer them BOTH risk and reward. Today, Terence Crawford is one such fighter. And as he has said, Boots Ennis offers him only one of these things, and as such, he is right to walk on the fight.
Agree or disagree?