By: Sean Crose
He’s widely seen as one of the faces of boxing’s future. At just 26 years of age, Jaron “Boots” Ennis is a powerful, sharp and extremely fluid welterweight waiting for a big fight. Or, in this case, any fight at all. For the 31-0 Ennis was set to fight Cody Crowley for the IBF welterweight title on July 13th. Unfortunately, the 22-0 Crowley was forced to step out of the fight due to medial issues with his right eye. Rather than taking the summer off, however, Ennis is looking for someone to replace the undefeated Crowley.
“If it’s Cody or not I will still be fighting a top contender on July 13 as planned!” Ennis posted on social media. “DONT WORRY!” With that being said, numerous outlets are reporting that the July fight card still on or is very close to being saved. It’s hard to imagine, frankly, that a hardened veteran or an ambitious up and comer wouldn’t jump at the opportunity to make a name for himself – for besting Ennis, especially on short notice, would be considered groundbreaking stuff. Actually defeating Ennis, however, is something that plainly is easier said than done. Just ask Ennis’ 31 previous opponents.
What makes the Philly native so impressive is that be brings a true sense of discipline to his game. He keeps it tight while allowing himself the freedom to make adjustments and to employ a high pressure offense. Furthermore, Ennis’ left – particularly when it goes in the form of a jab to the body, is particularly notable. Simply put, the 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, though those men are now (or, in the case of Spence, likely will be) junior middleweights.
All of which means the glamorous welterweight division can more or less belong to Ennis, provided he continue with his winning ways – which there’s no reason to believe he won’t. Still, it appears high end opposition may be ignoring him. This may not be true of course, but when a fighter passes the eye test like Ennis does, one has to wonder why major opponents aren’t calling out his name on the regular. That leaves it to fighters who don’t have the luxury to pass up an Ennis fight to fill the void. There’s plenty of such men out there….and some of them are quite good.