Promoter Eddie Hearn says Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis was playing with David Avanesyan on Saturday night, not trying to outdo Terence Crawford by knocking him faster than he did two years.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
Regardless of whether Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) was trying to stop Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KOs) faster than Crawford, he still did that by stopping in the fifth round in a successful defense of his IBF welterweight title at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Having Fun in the Ring
It took Crawford six rounds to stop Avanesyan on December 10, 2022, and he did it with exploding gloves.
“I think it was the way that he did it. Bear in mind that he’d been out for a year,” said Eddie Hearn to the media, reacting to Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis stopping David Avanesyan faster than Terence Crawford had done in December 2022.
“With all due respect to Avanesysan, he really played with him. He didn’t let himself get hit, but he had no regard for what was coming back,” Hearn continued. “He was trying to have fun in there. He was trying to get him out of there.”
Boots Ennis was getting hit a lot by accommodating Avanesyan by fighting him on the inside, where the challenger wanted the battlegrounds to be fought. While most fighters would choose to fight to their strengths, Ennis let Avanesyan have his way by fighting him inside the entire five-round contest, and he ultimately was superior.
Ennis’s “Average” Self-Assessment
“He was trying to be aggressive, but also, he’d been out of the ring for a year. I think he felt that his performance was quite average, Boots. I said, ‘If that was an average performance, you just destroyed Avanesyan. It was so one-sided. I know Avanesyan was trying. He landed a few bits and pieces,” said Hearn,
Avanesyan landed many hard shots on Ennis that would have knocked out many fighters with a lesser chin. After the fight, Ennis’ lips were swollen from the punches that he’d taken, and he looked like he’d been through a lot.
Seeking Stronger Competition
“The problem is away from Stanionis and away from Barrios, I want to see him tested because when you got someone like Shakur because like Shakur fighting these guys is a little bit of a waste of time. Who wants to see 120-108 three times for a one-sided beatdown?”
The problem is that Mario Barrios and Eimantas Stanionis won’t test Boots Ennis. If anything, they’ll be easier for him to beat than Avanesyan because they’re not big punchers.
The only way Ennis is going to be tested is if he moves up to 154. WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr. is the only one at welterweight that could test Boots Ennis, but he’s with Top Rank and they’re likely saving him for Teofimo Lopez, one of their own.
“So one okay to get active, but you’ve got to create the great fights so they can define their legacy these great fights,” said Hearn.
Ennis must move up to 154 and 160 if he wants to be tested by anyone. Staying at welterweight and focusing on becoming undisputed against the weak champions Stanionis and Barrios will not work.
