Written by: Sean Crose
He is widely seen as one of the future faces of boxing. At just 26 years old, Jaron “Boots” Ennis is a powerful, sharp and extremely fluid welterweight waiting for a big fight. Or, in this case, any fighting at all. At 31-0 Ennis was scheduled to fight Cody Crowley for the IBF welterweight title on July 13. Unfortunately, 22-0 Crowley was forced to pull out of the fight due to internal problems with his right eye. However, instead of sacking the summer, Ennis is looking for a replacement for the undefeated Crowley.
“If it’s Cody or not, I’m still going to fight a top contender on July 13th as planned!” Ennis wrote on social media. “DO NOT WORRY!” That being said, many outlets are reporting that the July fight card is still active or very close to being saved. It’s hard to imagine, frankly, that a stubborn or ambitious veteran wouldn’t jump at the chance to make a name for himself – for Ennis to do well, especially in such a short period of time, would be considered pathetic. Actually defeating Ennis, however, is easier said than done. Just ask Ennis’ 31 previous opponents.
What makes the Philly native so impressive is that be brings a real sense of discipline to his game. He keeps it tight while allowing himself the freedom to make adjustments and run a high-pressure offense. In addition, Ennis’ left hand – especially when it goes in the direction of a jab to the body, is very noticeable. Simply put, this young man looks heads and tails above his competition in the ring. It’s easy at this point to see Ennis facing the likes of Terence Crawford and Errol Spence, even though those men are now (or, in Spence’s case, likely will be) junior middleweights.
All this means that the glamorous welterweight division could be Ennis’s, as long as he continues his winning ways – which there is no reason to believe he won’t be. However, it seems that the top opposition may ignore him. This may not be true, but when a fighter passes the eye test like Ennis, one has to wonder why bigger opponents don’t call his name more often. That leaves it up to fighters who don’t have the luxury of going through Ennis’ fight to fill the gap. There are many men like that out there….and some of them are really good.
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