By: Sean Crose
When recently asked by Lance Pugmire for exaggerated fighting Who is the best welterweight in the world, Errol Spence or Terence Crawford, Jaron “Boots” Ennis is ready with a bold answer: “I am the best welterweight in the world,” he replied. . The man may be right. Boasting a record of 29 wins and no losses, the 25-year-old knockout beat all but two of his opponents in the distance. Suffice it to say, this being modern boxing, people are wondering if Ennis will be shunned by the biggest names in the industry – meaning Spence and maybe even Crawford. However, judging from the interview with Pugmire, Ennis doesn’t seem to think so.
This Saturday, the Philly-born boxer will take on the little-known 21-1 Karen Chukhadzhian in a scheduled 12th round bout for the IBF interim welterweight title. And a win could put him up against current IBF world welterweight title Spence. “I’m sure it’s the obvious path to the main belt, the IBF belt,” Ennis said of the win on Saturday. “I feel like it’s going to put me right there.” After all, the IBF is known to enforce its own rules (which is not entirely common in the contemporary boxing business).
“I feel,” the boxer added, “like the IBF is really strict with what’s going on.” If that’s the case, then Ennis could really stand a chance against Spence, especially now that a much-anticipated fight between Spence and his fellow world comrade Crawford has failed. Not that Ennis thought Spence was afraid. “I thought he was going to fight me,” he said of Spence. “I feel like the fans want to see it. If it weren’t for him or Crawford, they would have wanted to see me and him.” As for Chukhadzhian, whom he will face in this weekend’s Gervonta Davis – Luis Garcia’s pay-per-view event, Ennis said he and his team have worked hard.
“I don’t follow him too much,” Ennis admitted, “but my brother, my team, followed him.” Although he didn’t study Chukhadzhian, Ennis did research on a notable fighter while preparing for this Saturday’s bout. “I watched a lot of Mike Tyson,” he said, letting Pugmire know he was learning from footage of one of the all-time greats. “Pressure,” he said of the lessons he learned from watching Tyson fight, “go in with your head held high, smart, multiple doubles with the same hand.”
“I just have to,” said Ennis, referring to Chukhadzhian, “out there and being smart.”
