Promoter Bernard Hopkins says IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis isn’t the biggest threat to former undisputed champ Terence Crawford at 147.
Hopkins states without naming names that all welterweights are capable of beating each other, and none of them are above the other, which is difficult to believe. He’s saying Boots (31-0, 28 KOs) is not above the other welterweights, which sounds unbelievable.
Boots Gets the Cold Shoulder
“Nah, I think they’re all threats to each other if they don’t come right,” said Bernard Hopkins to the media when asked if Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is the biggest threat to Terence Crawford. “I don’t think anybody is a threat. Anybody has a chance. There’s so much talent that everybody is beatable in that division.
Is he intentionally being obtuse, or does he really believe that welterweights like Cody Crowley, Keith Thurman, Giovani Santillan, Alexis Rocha, Eimantas Stanionis, and Souleymane Cissokho are on the same level as Boots Ennis?
Hopkins’ Parity Argument
Bernard is dead wrong. All the welterweights aren’t even in terms of talent, as Boots stands out among the crowd and might be even better than the 36-year-old Crawford. If Terence gave Boots thie chance, he could prove how good he, but he doesn’t want to fight him.
Some boxing fans think Crawford is flat-out scared and doesn’t want to take any chances by fighting Boots for fear of getting beaten and watching all the praise that he’s getting from his win over a car crash-wrecked Errol Spence go down the drain in an instant.
While it is possible for fighters to beat one another on any given night at 147, Hopkins seems to be overlooking the talent that a fighter like Boots Ennis has going for him by saying that all welterweights are equal. They’re not. It’s not possible.
Is Hopkins Playing Politics?
“I don’t favor anybody. Anything can happen in that division,” said Hopkins about the 147-lb weight class.
Some would argue that Bernard isn’t willing to give Boots Ennis credit for being Crawford’s biggest threat due to promotional politics. Boots isn’t with Golden Boy, so if Hopkins were to praise him, he would be helping out the promotional company that promotes Ennis.
