Commentator Antonio Tarver believes Terence Crawford would beat Jaron “Boots” Ennis if they met and proved who was better.
Crawford is expected to retire soon, and could do so if he gets a fight with Canelo Alvarez. Before that, he must face Israil Madrimov, the WBA junior middleweight champion, on August 3.
Crawford could lose to Madrimov, destroying his hopes of fighting Canelo. If Crawford wins, he will likely try to capture the remaining 154 titles to become undisputed.
Tarver believes former three-division world champion Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) fared better in his win over David Avanesyan two years ago than Ennis’ performance against “Boot” on July 13.
For the record, “Boots” (32-0, 29 KOs) stopped Avanesyan a round earlier in the fifth round, compared to Crawford’s sixth-round knockout on December 10, 2022.
Boots looked stronger and much younger than the 34-year-old version of Crawford who fought Avanesyan two years ago.
Ennis was often attacked by Avanesyan, but he always responded. Crawford was also attacked by Avanesyan, but he put more energy into his defense than Boots. It was a different approach.
Ennis was trying to get Avanesyan out of there and wasn’t focused on not getting hit like Crawford. Crawford was pushing strenuous so Avanesyan wouldn’t overwhelm him from the inside. The ref should have warned Crawford about pushing but I didn’t see a single warning.
Unlike Crawford, Ennis was eager to continue fighting in the ring and overwhelmed Avanesyan with body blows and hooks.
“He has a radiant future. He’s firing on all cylinders at the moment,” said Antonio Tarver Fighting with excitementtalking about Jaron “Boots” Ennis after his impressive victory over David Avanesyan.
“I thought he played great, except for a few times where he lost focus, but that’s normal when a guy fights at home,” Tarver said of Boots Ennis, who fought in front of his hometown crowd at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Ennis didn’t lose focus. He tried to knock Avanesyan down and didn’t put any energy into avoiding his punches. He was in a hurry to score points for stopping Avanesyan because he wanted to get the knockout faster than Crawford, and he was forced to throw a few punches to achieve that goal.
“He’s going to have to mentally toughen up and focus a lot more against Crawford,” Tarver said of Boots. “That’s the fight everyone wants to see. He’s different from all the other welterweights. If we’re ever going to fight to see who’s really the best welterweight, he and Crawford have to fight,” Tarver said of wanting Ennis and Crawford to face off to prove who’s the best.
If Ennis and Crawford were to fight, it wouldn’t happen for another two years. Crawford only fights once a year, and his fight this year is against Madrimov. Then Crawford would fight in early 2025. After that, he’d likely be out until the first quarter of 2026. By then, Crawford would be almost 39 years aged and would pose no threat to Boots Ennis.
“It looked like he was surprised by some of the shots. You’re going to get hit, but when you get surprised by a shot, it means your defense was tender. It means he sneaked one in on you. That was the difference,” Tarver said of the shots that Ennis was hit by Avanesyan.
I watched the fight live and Ennis didn’t care if Avanesyan hit him. He just wanted to punch him and was willing to take punches to punch him.
Ennis knows that boxing is all about entertainment, and to do that, you have to be ready for the punches. Crawford was lifeless against Avanesyan because he was moving, pushing, and ducking punches to avoid the punches.
“Crawford got a strenuous time” [by Avanesyan]but he was aware of it. I think the reason he got hit was because Avanesyan threw some great punches. Crawford’s focus never wavered. He never lost focus in the fight,” Tarver said.
Crawford was unaware of the many punches Avanesyan was throwing at him. He was getting hit as he moved around the ring, trying to avoid the punches. He was always trying to get away from Avanesyan’s pressure, but he couldn’t because his wheels weren’t what they used to be.
“When I look at the two of them and compare them, that was the difference. Crawford controlled Avaneysan a lot better than Boots did,” Tarver said.
Boots Ennis was in a seek and destroy motion, constantly coming forward. Crawford was backing up, trying to escape Avanesyan’s pressure. It wasn’t even half the fun, and the exploding gloves made it worse.
“I’m a Crawford guy. I’ll always run with Crawford,” Tarver said when asked if he’d have to choose between Ennis and Crawford if they clashed. “I’ve seen him [Crawford] long ago, and I had made up my mind long ago. He did nothing but solidify everything I thought he could be.”
The guys Crawford beat weren’t good enough to make a statement. They were all pretty. Crawford beat eight times at 147, and the two best guys were 34, Errol Spence and Shawn Porter. They weren’t the same fighters they were in the past.
“Until someone beats Crawford, I’m sticking with him. I don’t mind losing when I take my guy. Until he loses, I’m sticking with him. I’d rather be wrong than turn my back on a fighter I fell in love with a long time ago,” Tarver said, predicting Crawford would beat Boots Ennis.
If Crawford fought Boots Ennis, they could show the fans who is the best, but since Terence won’t do it, you have to give it to the younger guy by default. If the older guy doesn’t want to fight the teenage lion, you can guess why. He doesn’t have the confidence and they’re not good enough.
In a recent match that drew a record crowd of 96,000 at Wembley Arena in Wembley, UK, on Saturday, former heavyweight champion and Olympic gold medalist “AJ” Joshua (28-4) was defeated by interim IBF champion Daniel “Dynamite” Dubois (22-2) via 5th round knockout.
At the pre-fight press conference, Joshua stood up and challenged Dubois, causing a stir. Dubois remained adamant as the press conference was interrupted. Joshua did not know that a few days later, due to his arrogance, he would be knocked out by Dubois.
In heavyweight boxing, in September 1985, heavyweight champion Larry “The Easton Assassin” Holmes had a record of 48-0 and came within a whisker of tying Rocky Marciano’s record (49-0) by defeating airy heavyweight champion Michael “Jinx” Spinks (27-0) in 15 rounds.
It was the surprise of 1985 according to Ring magazine. Later, the arrogant Holmes said: “Marciano couldn’t wear my jockstrap!” Nothing about Spinks, who beat him!
In March 1971, former heavyweight champion Muhammad Ali (31-0) returned from a three-year layoff due to the Modern York boxing commission having his license revoked. After having it returned to him after two victories, he signed a contract to regain his title and face another Olympic gold medalist who then held the heavyweight title, “Smokin’ Joe Frazier” (26-0), at Madison Square Garden in Modern York City.
Entering the fifteenth and final round, Ali was trailing 8-6, 9-6, and 11-4, needing a knockout. It was Frazier who floored Ali in the first minute of the round, although Frazier had swelling around both eyes that were nearly closed by the end, according to the post-fight commentator, who said, “Frazier’s sitting on his stool looking diseased,” when he was announced the winner. He was later taken to the hospital. Ali, suffering his first defeat, had a swollen jaw but was not taken to the hospital.
The arrogance of Joshua, Holmes and Ali led to their defeat.
As 96,000 people poured out of Wembley’s gates, a pile of well-laid plans rose delicately into the London night sky. Ahead of his headline fight against Daniel Dubois, Anthony Joshua, the pay-per-view star and longtime poster boy of British boxing, had already been quizzed about potential fights with the likes of Tyson Fury and Oleksandr Usyk.
Fury and Usyk are tied for a rematch in December, while AJ has already failed to beat Usyk in 24 rounds. That hasn’t stopped talk of Joshua’s next move if he beats Daniel Dubois…
After his British colleague beat AJ, a rematch now seems more realistic than a clash with one of the huge boys. Everything was going so smoothly under novel trainer Ben Davison.
Wins upon wins. The momentum slowly built. Joshua looked confident as he dispatched the likes of Robert Helenius, Otto Wallin and Francis Ngannou. But none of them had the hunger and raw punching power of Frank Warren’s dynamite destroyer.
The rebuild would not be officially complete until a victory over a live dog. With Ben Davison jumping into the ring, pushing referee Marcus McDonnell aside, and Joshua lying prostrate on the canvas, the final part of Operation AJ was cleaning up the scene.
Bypassing four non-roster contenders, including a noble newcomer to the art (Ngannou) who improved his stock after the Fury loss, Joshua set his sights on becoming a three-time world champion.
It wasn’t meant to be. Daniel Dubois made sure of that. Joshua was uncertain from the start. He staggered, dazed, held in the clinch, neglecting his top-notch jab as his brain cells fluttered. While not ideal, a rematch with Dubois is key to a comeback for the 34-year-old, stumbling towards the end. Failure to right the wrongs of last night will spell the end of any fleeting hopes for Fury or Usyk.
Raymond Ford will try to win another world title, but in a different weight class.
Ford will face Orlando Gonzalez on Nov. 9, promoter Eddie Hearn announced Friday. The 10-round fight will take place at the Wells Fargo Arena and precedes the main event between IBF welterweight champion Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Karen Chukhadzhian.
On the next Matchroom Boxing show, Jesse Rodriguez will defend his WBC Ring junior bantamweight title and fight Pedro Guevara.
All three fights will be broadcast live on DAZN.
“Featherweight World Champion @raysavage856 moves up to 130lbs in Philadelphia!” Eddie Hearn said in a post on social media. “’The Savage’ and Two Kings… in an incredible show in Philadelphia, November 9th.”
Ford (15-1, 8 knockouts) will fight in front of a biased crowd from his home in Camden, Up-to-date Jersey, across the Delaware River from Philadelphia.
The 25-year-old left-hander won the WBA featherweight world title on March 2, overcoming an early deficit to stop Otabek Kholmatov in the final round. Entering the final round, Ford was trailing 106-103 on two judges’ scorecards.
Ford became the first American fighter to sign an amateur contract and win a world title under the Matchroom Boxing banner. Ford and super middleweight title challenger Diego Pacheco were the first two American fighters to sign with Matchroom Boxing directly from the amateur ranks.
In his first attempt to defend his WBA featherweight title on June 1, Ford lost a split decision to Nick Ball.
The move to 130 pounds shouldn’t come as a surprise, as Ford had been considering moving up one weight class from featherweight following his knockout win over Kholmatov.
Gonzalez (23-2, 13 KOs), who lives in Aguadilla, Puerto Rico, last fought on June 28 in a close fight, stopping goaltender Jose Santos Gonzalez in the third round. In his previous fight on November 29, the left-handed Gonzalez won a split decision over Jorge Castaneda.
The 29-year-old has fought his last three fights under the ProBox TV banner. He is the older cousin of undefeated junior lightweight LeBron Henry and has won his last five fights since losing to Misael Lopez in September 2022.
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