Jaron “Boots” Ennis was fighting David Avanesyan on Saturday night, but he wasn't trying to out-beat Terence Crawford by beating him faster than he did two years ago, according to promoter Eddie Hearn.
(Credit: Melina Pizano/Matchroom)
Whether Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) had planned to stop Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KOs) sooner than Crawford did, Ennis stopped Avanesyan in the fifth round in their IBF welterweight title defense at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, giving Crawford the victory.
Have fun with the ring
On December 10, 2022, Crawford needed six rounds to stop Avanesyan, but he did it with explosive gloves.
“I think it's because of the way he fought, keep in mind he was out for a year,” Eddie Hearn told media in reaction to Jaron “Boots” Ennis stopping David Avanesyan sooner than Terence Crawford did in December 2022.
“With all due respect to Abanethisan, he was really playing with him. He wasn't going to get hit, but he had no regard for what was coming back,” Hearn continued. “He was out there trying to have fun. He was trying to get Abanethisan out of there.”
Boots Ennis pandered to Avanesyan by fighting on the inside where Avanesyan wanted the battlefield, and took many of the hits. While most fighters choose to fight to their strengths, Ennis let Avanesyan have his way by fighting on the inside for all five rounds of the bout, and ultimately gained the advantage.
Ennis' “average” self-assessment
“He was trying to be aggressive but he'd been out of the ring for a year. I think he felt his performance was pretty mediocre, Boots. I said, 'If it was a mediocre performance, you just outplayed Avanesyan. It was too one-sided. I know Avanesyan was trying. He landed some punches,” Hearn said.
Avanesyan landed some hard punches on Ennis that would have knocked out a fighter with a weaker chin, and after the fight, Ennis looked like he'd been through a lot, with his lip swollen from the punches he'd taken.
Seeking stronger competition
“The problem is that Stanionis and Barrios are far apart. With a guy like Shakur, I want to see him tested. It's a waste of time for Shakur to fight a guy like that. Who wants to see him get beaten 120-108 three times in a row?”
The problem is that Mario Barrios and Eimantas Stanionis won't be challenging Ennis, and in fact they won't have as much punching power and would be easier to beat than Avanesyan.
The only way Ennis will be tested is if he moves up to 154 pounds. The only welterweight fighter who could test Ennis is WBO welterweight champion Brian Norman Jr., but he's with Top Rank and is likely saving his time for fellow Top Rank athlete Teofimo Lopez.
“So it's good to be proactive, but we have to create great matches that allow our fighters to define their legacy,” Hearn said.
Ennis needs to move up to 154 or 160 if he wants anyone to give him a shot. Staying at welterweight and focusing on becoming invincible against weaker champions like Stanionis or Barrios isn't going to work.
