Boxing
Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis: The Road to Superstardom Has Been 154 Years
Published
6 months agoon
By
J. HumzaJaron “Boots” Ennis has a lot of options available to him at 154 for critical fights that will augment his popularity. He hasn’t said whether he’ll stay at 147 or move up, but it’s believed he’ll listen to his promoter and stay at welterweight to collect all the belts.
Some fans believe the 27-year-old Ennis is a coward and is afraid to move up to 154 because he is afraid of getting beaten by Crawford or another killer in the division.
Ennis should move up to 154 and focus on these fighters:
Terence Crawford
Sebastian Fundor
Errol Spence
Tim Tszyu
Vergil Ortiz Jr
Israil Madrimov
Serhii Bohachuk
Erickson Lubin
At least seven of them would neat it up if they moved to 147 and took the three remaining belt holders, Eimantas Stanionis, Mario Barrios and Brian Norman Jr.
Welterweight Stagnation
It’s a delicate group with those titles, so Ennis doesn’t gain much by staying at 147 to unify. Boots Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, wants him to stay at welterweight, believing he’ll accomplish something worthwhile by becoming the undisputed champion.
I don’t see it that way. It’s a waste of time because the three guys Boots is going to fight for the belts are not popular and are not well known to the average boxing fan. They’ve never heard of Stanionis, Barrios and Norman Jr.
“You saw his ability to seamlessly switch between combinations. The way he came at Avanesyan, took his power, took it on the chin, wasn’t afraid of it at all and kept working. The kid is brilliant,” said Tim Bradley. Probox TV about Jaron “Boots” Ennis.
“That’s the reason nobody wants to fight Boots Ennis, because they see exactly what I see. He’s a problem for everybody in the division, and that’s why everybody kept running away from him.”
Crawford’s Fear
Crawford has already said he doesn’t want to fight Boots Ennis. But he still uses the excuse that he wants to get paid and build his legacy by fighting Canelo Alvarez at super middleweight. But if money is what powers Crawford’s engine, why is he fighting Madrimov?
The money Crawford will get in the fight is nowhere near what a fight with Boots Ennis would generate. It looks like sheer fear on Crawford’s part, choosing Madrimov while avoiding Boots.
Crawford is elderly, 37, so you can leave him alone and let him make his selections based on whether he deserves it. It’s kind of like what Canelo does at the end of his career.
“I saw the desire to finish the fight and that killer instinct,” boxing expert Paulie Malignaggi said of Boots Ennis. “A guy like Crawford knows how to control the distance a little bit. I saw a lack of creativity in the way Jaron closes the distance. A guy who forces you to fight in close has to be a little more original. But that could also be because Jaron hasn’t had to work in close.”
Ennis understands that if he boxed Avaneysan and played it sheltered, fans would criticize him for being uninteresting and his popularity would not augment. So he was willing to put himself in danger to be entertaining.
“Avanesyan is right there. Just get to him and start throwing combinations and you’ll be in the pocket,” Malignaggi said.
Ennis had no choice but to hit Avanesyan because he was coming straight at him and he’s not a runner. Boots doesn’t employ all the tricks we’ve seen from Crawford for most of his career, like moving around the ring, throwing a lot of straight punches, and doing a lot of the same things Shakur Stevenson does on defense.
It’s a different era now, and fighters can’t afford to do that without damaging their marketability. Crawford fought that way, but it slowed his career. He only became popular last year in his fight with Spence.
“I personally would like to see him unify at 147. It’s an open division. I see him beating all the other champions and being able to unify that division,” Chris Algieri said of Ennis. “He’s been out of the ring for a year. He needs to keep busy. Now he’s got a promotional arm in Matchroom that can keep him busy.”
Algeria’s conservative approach
The ultra-conservative approach Algieri wants Boots Ennis to take would be poison to his career, and he would be wasting his time if he went down that route. Again, the three welterweight titleholders are completely unknown to the casual boxing fan.
If they don’t know who these guys are, Boots has nothing to gain by fighting them. The die-hard fans would be content, but Ennis would put his career on hold and have nothing to show for the time and effort he put into it.
Who should @JaronEnnis keep fighting?! 💥 photo:twitter.com/36ac39uFbM
— DAZN Boxing (@DAZNBoxing) July 24, 2024
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Boxing
Ryan Rozicki is waiting for Badou Jack’s consent to mandatory cooperation with the WBC
Published
3 days agoon
January 13, 2025The World Boxing Council (WBC) ordered world cruiserweight champion Badou “The Ripper” Jack (20-1-1, 19 KO) to make a mandatory title defense against Ryan “The Bruiser” Rozicki (20-1), number 1 in the WBC ranking – 1, 19 KOs).
If both camps fail to successfully negotiate an agreement, the WBC will organize a tender on February 4, followed by the Jack vs. Rozicki. Rozicki’s promoter, Three Lions Promotions, immediately sent Team Jacek an offer to promote the fight in Canada last week.
“We are waiting for their counteroffer,” explained promoter Dan Otter of Three Lions Promotions. “Boxing has had a huge resurgence in Canada and Ryan is leading the way. He is one of the most electrifying and hardest-hitting fighters in boxing, definitely in the cruiserweight division. He wants the WBC green belt and ultimately the unification of the division. Ryan will fight Jack anywhere for the belt.”
29-year-old Rozicki, born in Sydney (Nova Scotia) and living in Hamilton (Ontario), fought 22 professional fights against 21 different opponents (twice against Yamil Alberto Peralta), stopping 19 of the 20 opponents he defeated. an eye-opening 95-KO percentage.
Jack, 41, was a 2008 Olympian representing his native Sweden. He is a three-division world champion, as well as the WBC super middleweight and World Boxing Association (WBA) lightweight heavyweight title holder. Jack has a record of 5-0-2 (2 KO) in world championship fights.
“We respect Jack and I don’t want to sound disrespectful,” Otter added, “but he’s over 40 years vintage and has been relatively inactive for two years (only one fight). He brings a lot of experience and respect to the ring, but he will fight a newborn defender with a lot of power. Jack is going to struggle and honestly, I don’t think he’ll make it past the first few rounds.”
Ryan Rozicki is on a mission to become the first Canadian cruiserweight world champion.
The next move is Badou Jack’s.
Boxing
Floyd Mayweather’s record is not normal, it can’t happen in 70 years
Published
4 days agoon
January 12, 2025Floyd Mayweather’s incredible 50-0 record is not normal and cannot be repeated in sports for another seventy years.
This is the view of Saudi Arabian president Turki Alalshikh, who wants to adopt the UFC model in which fighters lose many fights during their career.
In a speech as he hosted the Ring Magazine Awards after acquiring the long-running boxing publication from Oscar De La Hoya, Alalshikh was unequivocal in his opinion.
“Now losing some fights in boxing must be normal,” he explained. “All fighters want a career similar to Floyd Mayweather – no losses. This may happen once every 50, 60 or 70 years.
“We need it [to be] like currently in the UFC model, where champions lose and win,” added the matchmaker during the Riyad season.
Mayweather rose through the sport in the tardy 1990s to become one of its youngest superstars. Mayweather’s professional success came after winning a bronze medal at the Olympics after losing to Serafim Todorov.
Winning world titles in five weight classes, Mayweather was untouchable. The Grand Rapids native only came close to defeat a few times. He dominated Manny Pacquiao and overtook Canelo Alvarez and Oscar De La Hoya after heated debates, with decisions that should have been made unanimously.
Towards the end of his career, Mayweather chose to face Andre Berto and Conor McGregor, easily winning and ending his boxing career at the age of 50 without ever going out. Calling himself “the greatest of all time,” Mayweather earned first-ballot Hall of Fame honors and is widely considered one of, if not the greatest defensive fighter of all time.
However, Alalshikh says this type of career needs to end so that fans can get the most out of boxing, as is the case with the Ultimate Fighting Championship. Boxing needs to become more attractive, and Alalshikh sees the failures of top stars as a way to keep interest at an all-time high.
In this sport, many boxers enjoy undefeated streaks, the most notable of which is Oleksandr Usyk. The Ukrainian Pound for Pound King is 23-0 and has beaten the best he has to offer in his division and cruiserweight classification.
It remains a mystery how Alalshikh plans to make Usyk suffer while he dominates everyone else. By the time his grand plan goes into action, Usyk will be long gone, and Gervonta Davis, Shakur Stevenson and Devin Haney may be more realistic targets.
Boxing
Manny Pacquiao remains the favorite to win the title against Mario Barrios
Published
1 week agoon
January 6, 2025WBN understands that despite alternative options emerging, it is more likely that Manny Pacquiao will face Mario Barrios next.
Bob Santos, coach of WBC welterweight champion Barrios, told World Boxing News that he is currently in contact with Pacquiao’s team. Asked by WBN if he had spoken to Pacquiao or representatives of any other challenger, Santos replied: “Yes, Pacquiao’s promoter, Sean Gibbons.” Pressed on whether Barrios vs Pacquiao might happen next, he added: “It’s challenging to say. We’ll have to see how this plays out.”
WBN contacted Santos after Conor Benn emerged as a potential alternative to Barrios. The British fighter, who recently returned from a suspension following two positive drug tests, is keen to return to competition.
Benn showed favor with the World Boxing Council at the recent WBC Convention, the WBC Evaluation Committee and during an interview with the sanctioning body over the weekend. “The Destroyer” is ranked second in the rankings at 147 pounds, despite less than solid opponents during his time in exile, during which Benn competed twice in the United States while his career in the United Kingdom was in doubt.
As he battled to clear his name and with the British Anti-Doping Authority finding no evidence that Benn had intentionally taken ostarine, the 28-year-old’s career took a pointed nosedive. Despite this, he remains highly rated and at least one step away from fighting for an eliminator or one of the remaining championship titles.
However, Pacquiao remains Barrios’ favorite. Now it’s up to the boxing legend and Hall of Famer who got the first votes to secure his shot. WBN believes a July date – most likely at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas – is the most realistic date for a Nevada swan song.
Pacquiao could extend his record as the oldest welterweight champion by six years if he can secure a huge victory over the 29-year-old world champion. At 46 years antique, such a scenario remains unlikely, but he can never be compared to one of the greatest players of this generation.
Unlike heavier boxers and his training regiment, Pacquiao looks in great shape despite his advanced age. Everything is set for a massive return to the boxing capital of the world, provided Pacquiao and his team can manage his political ambitions, which are expected to run from this month until May. After that time, Pacquiao could find himself in the summer finals and become the all-time champion, regardless of the result.
Barrios is based in the city, where he trained with Santos, and would be the perfect opponent to see out the career of one of the greatest fighters in history.
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