Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and his promoter, Eddie Hearn, received terrible news last week: The IBF has mandated that he defend against his welterweight contender, Karen Chukhadzhian, in a rematch that will eat up the remaining fight for the Philadelphia native this year.
Boot’s goal of staying at 147 long enough to become an undisputed champion will require more time than he can afford, stall his career, and hurt his money-making potential.
Boots must forget about capturing the 147-lb belts and move up to 154 to seek better opportunities. If he or his promoter, Hearn, is worried about his ability to thrive at 154, they can aim low, target the easy marks on the bottom rung of the division, and wait for the guys at the top to age.
Crawford’s Disinterest
Terence Crawford, 36, won’t be around too much longer, and he’s already said many times that he has zero interest in fighting Boots.
So, if the worry is for Ennis and his team that they might be pressured to fight Crawford if they move up to 154, they needn’t worry because he’s focusing on the big game, not the ambition-less small fries that lack initiative.
Crawford knows Boots can’t draw, so he wants nothing to do with him. He’s not worthy of his interest, and he’s doing nothing to increase his popularity by staying at 147. Boots’ decision to stay at welterweight proves that he’ll never be in the Crawford league. The two have different mindsets. Crawford is a risk-taker, whereas Boots plays it safe, avoiding the killers.
It’s now foolish for Ennis to stay at welterweight because he won’t get the three fights he needs against the three belt-holders to become the undisputed champion.
Without His Excellency Turki Alalshikh lending a helping hand to throw money at WBC champ Mario Barrios, WBA champ Eimantis Stanionis, and WBO champ Brian Norman Jr, Boots could take years to get those fights.
Staying at 147: A Sign of Weakness
He would be no better off popularity-wise than he is now. Boots would probably be worse off because those fights would go under the radar with casual boxing fans, and he would be in his 30s by the time he completes the jobs.
Ennis already defeated Chukhadzhian last year by a 12-round unanimous decision with a set of 120-x 3 scores in one of Boot’s worst performances of his career. The fight was unwatchable because of its dullness.
Hearn spoke of making an offer to WBC welterweight champion Mario Barrios for a unification fight with Boots. However, that offer is reportedly not nearly enough to entice Barrios, and Hearn will have to increase the number or give up and focus on Ennis’ mandatory Chukhadzhian.
“I’m not over the moon about it. We want to make the biggest fights out there, unification fights,” said Hearn, reacting to the IBF ordering Boots Ennis to defend his title against Chukhadzhian in a rematch.
