Trainer Stephen Edwards doubts Jaron “Boots” Ennis will get any recognition if he beats 39-40-year-old Terence Crawford a year or two after he moves up to 160 pounds.
Building shoes, losing Crawford
Ennis (35-0, 31 KO) still fights at junior middleweight and that’s not to say he wants to move up to 160 or 168 right now. He’ll have to do that soon to catch up to Crawford (42-0, 31 KO) before he retires.
“It’s so far. ‘Boots’ has to beat four undefeated fighters. “Bakhram,” said Stephen Edwards MillCity Boxingdiscussing the unlikely chance of a fight between Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Terence Crawford.
Stefan is right. Ennis still fights at 154, and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, wants him to pristine up the division before moving up to 160 pounds to test Crawford. It could take Ennis two to three years to win all four junior middleweight titles. By then, Crawford will be gone, or if he is, there won’t be much left.
Built-in age excuse
“I just think it’s too far unless Turki and Terence come up with a brilliant plan to get a fight [with ‘Boots’]. I just don’t know how we could do it. If we succeed, Crawford will now be 38 years elderly. He would have been 39 or 40 years elderly. “I don’t know if ‘Boots’ would get any credit for that,” Edwards said.
Ennis won’t be credited with beating Crawford if he’s 39 or 40 years elderly. The excuse for age will be to nullify ‘Boots’ victory. If Crawford faces one of the 168-pound sharks like Osleys Iglesias or Christian Mbilli, he will likely lose. He would be worthless to Ennis after this and considered broken, which is largely true. He didn’t look good against Canelo, and certainly not against Israil Madrimov.
Millions of Turki could save it
It must have been Turki who made the huge offer to lure Crawford into fighting Ennis. I think Crawford would want between $50 million and $150 million to fight “Boots,” even though he’s not as popular as Canelo Alvarez.
Terence just watched Canelo make $150 million and may feel like he took his place as the Face of Boxing with the victory. It confused him, thinking that a win would turn him into the up-to-date Canelo financially. If that were the case, Dmitry Bivol would be the huge money man in the sport, as he defeated Canelo in 2022 in much more impressive fashion than Crawford.
It’s a fight that won’t attract more viewers than the 41 million global viewers of Canelo vs. Crawford on Netflix. Ennis isn’t a huge enough name yet. So it would all come down to whether Turki wants this fight enough to overpay Crawford.
Judging by his last two performances against Canelo and Israil Madrimov, he is not worth $50-100 million. These were the efforts of fighters earning fifty thousand. For Crawford to make that kind of money, Turki would have to like him a lot and it would take more of a fight.
Since he has no interest in fighting him, he is more focused on getting down to 160 pounds to win the title for legacy purposes.
Crawford chases Adames
Bud just wants to win a sixth-division world title and get a nice payday by fighting WBC middleweight champion Carlos Adames. He is the one Crawford has a history with from sparring sessions where he supposedly beat Adames.
“I don’t know if it’s possible because ‘Boots’ would have to leave 54 and there’s a lot of work to do at 154. Crawford would have to come out with 168,” Edwards said.
Time is not on Boots’ side
Ennis cannot fight Crawford unless he tells his promoter Eddie Hearn that he has no interest in staying at 154 pounds and spending the next year or two building his resume. It’s a waste of time. He’ll still be two divisions away from Crawford, and the age excuse would be even more.
Chris Williams is a senior writer for Boxing News 24covering sports since 2013 and reporting on major events around the world. His relationships range from established champions to hungry prospects vying for recognition. Over the years, Chris has worked with many of boxing’s top brass, earning respect for his insightful analysis and insider perspective.
World Boxing News provides live results and a round-by-round scorecard as Takuma Inoue faces Tenshin Nasukawa for the second time at Toyota Arena Tokyo in Japan.
Inoue and Nasukawa collide over 12 rounds for the WBC bantamweight title in their rematch.
Ryosuke Nishida faces Sam Goodman for the interim IBF super bantamweight title, while Ryusei Matsumoto takes on Russell Acosta Silveira for the interim WBO minimumweight title.
Tomoya Tsuboi and Ricardo Malajika also meet for the vacant WBC super flyweight title.
WBN provides live results and updates from every bout as they happen, plus a round-by-round scorecard for Inoue vs. Nasukawa.
Results
All times are local JST.
19:44
Ricardo Malajika handed Tomoya Tsuboi his first professional defeat with a split decision over 12 rounds, winning 116-112 and 115-113 on two cards. Tsuboi took the third 115-113 and dropped to 3-1.
18:47
Ryusei Matsumoto improved to 9-0 and retained his interim WBO minimumweight title with a unanimous decision over previously unbeaten Russell Acosta Silveira. The judges scored the 12-round contest 118-110, 116-112 and 115-113.
18:02
Natsuki Kuramochi defeated Hayato Aiko by majority decision over four rounds, earning scores of 40-36 and 39-37, with the third judge scoring it 38-38.
Kuramochi improved to 2-1-1, while Aiko dropped to 2-3-1.
Remaining Bouts
Takuma Inoue vs. Tenshin Nasukawa — 12 rounds, WBC bantamweight title
Ryosuke Nishida vs. Sam Goodman — 12 rounds, interim IBF super bantamweight title
Inoue vs Nasukawa Scorecard
Takuma Inoue vs Tenshin Nasukawa
(Round-by-round scorecard will refresh every 2 mins)
WBC Bantamweight Title Toyota Arena Tokyo, Japan 12×3
Round
Inoue
I’m sorry
Round 1
Round 2
Round 3
Round 4
Round 5
Round 6
Round 7
Round 8
Round 9
Round 10
Round 11
Round 12
WBN Totals:
Official Result:
Round-by-Round Notes
Round-by-round updates will appear here when Inoue vs. Nasukawa begins.
TV Coverage
Broadcast information will be added when confirmed.
Follow WBN’s live boxing coverage throughout the event.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
Paulie Malignaggi has offered his reaction to a reported clash between Shakur Stevenson and Manny Pacquiaowhich could feature on the undercard of Tyson Fury vs Anthony Joshua.
The all-British heavyweight showdown is expected to take place on December 11, headlining an event at Cardiff’s Principality Stadium.
That is, of course, if Fury and Joshua actually make it to the ring, as despite it being announced earlier this week, The Ring’s Mike Coppinger has since reported that their fight is in jeopardy.
Prior to that, it had emerged that an encounter between Stevenson and Pacquiao – between whom there is a near two-decade age gap – was being planned for the same night in Wales.
Should it come to fruition, this would represent Stevenson’s first outing since signing with Dana White’s Zuffa Boxing, who he joined after dethroning Teofimo Lopez with a unanimous decision victory in January.
Pacquiao, meanwhile, has not fought since his draw with Mario Barrios in July 2025, when he ended a near four-year layoff and almost claimed the WBC welterweight title.
Yet despite that surprisingly impressive performance, former world champion Malignaggi has emphasised on his YouTube channel that, against Stevenson, the 47-year-old would be facing an entirely different competitor.
“Manny Pacquiao-Shakur Stevenson has no place on this card; [it] has no place in big-time boxing. I am completely befuddled.
“[I’m] disappointed in Stevenson; [I’m] disappointed in Zuffa, obviously. These are ‘click bait’ type of fights. These are names that draw attention, so you can get people to watch. Then the fight’s a dud and all these casuals sit there complaining about boxing, telling you why boxing’s dead.”
Malignaggi went on to credit Pacquiao with being “competitive against the worst world champion I’ve ever seen in my life”, emphasising a considerable difference between Barrios and Stevenson.
World Boxing News provides a round-by-round scorecard as Johnny Fisher faces Michael Pirotton at the Copper Box Arena in London.
Fisher and Pirotton collide over ten rounds at heavyweight as Zuffa Boxing stages its latest card in the United Kingdom.
The Romford Bull returns to action with Pirotton standing in his way as the British heavyweight looks to continue his climb.
WBN provides a live scorecard of the contest below, plus live results throughout the event.
Fisher vs Pirotton Scorecard
Johnny Fisher vs Michael Pirotton
(Round-by-round scorecard will refresh every 2 mins)
Heavyweight Copper Box Arena, London 10×3
Round
Fisher
Pirotton
Round 1
10
9
Round 2
10
9
Round 3
9
10
Round 4
9
10
Round 5
10
9
Round 6
10
9
Round 7
10
9
Round 8
10
9
Round 9
10
9
Round 10
10
9
WBN Totals:
98
92
Official Result: FISHER MD – 98-92, 96-95, 95-95
Zuffa Boxing
Preview
Fisher faces Pirotton in the first fight of his lucrative deal with Dana White and Zuffa Boxing.
The Briton enters the contest with a 14-1 record, while Pirotton brings a 12-2 record into the Zuffa Boxing 11 bout.
The event is available live on Sky in the United Kingdom and Paramount+.
The Fisher vs Pirotton event unfolds alongside more live coverage on World Boxing News.
About the Author
Phil Jay is the Editor-in-Chief of World Boxing News (WBN), a BWAA-acknowledged boxing news website founded in 2010. A veteran boxing reporter with 16 years of experience, he has interviewed world champions, broken international exclusives, and reported ringside from major events. His work is published worldwide through WBN and distributed on platforms including Apple News.
