Home/Boxing

via Imago

via Imago

Jaron Ennis finds himself sort of in a pickle right now. While his longstanding dream of becoming a world champion has come true, the fighter in him denies reaping the fame of it. After all, he is now an IBF welterweight champion, albeit a champion who did not fight for it. But he remains stern on the idea that he will indeed prove to the world that he deserves the title, and he will do so via a fight. Against whom? Terence Crawford.

On the 29th of July, the iconic T-Mobile Arena saw Crawford emerge as the undisputed champion in his weight class. However, his P4p opponent, Errol Spence Jr. would not accept his fate so easily. The fighter immediately invoked the rematch clause in their contract. The result? Crawford would be so occupied with the rematch that he would be unable to defend his IBF title, thereby losing it to Ennis, a fighter who’d be the mandatory challenger for it otherwise. But would Ennis have the title without having fought for it? Not really.

Jaron Ennis Calls on Bud for a fight

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

‘Boots’ Ennis today has the power of a champion but he remains as powerless as he could be. He desperately waits to prove to the world that he does deserve the title that was ‘given’ to him. Yes, given to him. That phrase haunts him today. But what could he rather do? He is a fighter of gumption that not a lot of fighters would like to go against. In such desperate attempts, Boots called out ‘Bud’ for a fight. He claims to have allowed Bud to reclaim his title. But deep down, it seems like an effort to escape the tag of having been given the title. He said, “Come get your belt back if you think you’re the best in the world.”

He might be a champion today, but he remains a fighter out of the top list of the weight class. The only way he could climb up the cutthroat ladder he says is, “I just gotta keep winning and keep making noise.” He further adds, “Keep stepping on these guys. They gotta see me.” Boots would like to take his fight against Keith Thurman, Mario Barrios, and Errol Spence Jr. But his focus remains Bud. Why would it not? After the 29 July fight, everyone wants a piece of Bud.

Bud comes down heavy at the IBF

Omaha native, Crawford proved he deserves to hold the IBF title when he knocked out ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr. in the 9th round. Yet, just a few months later, he was stripped of the title because he did not undertake the mandatory Boots fight. A raging conversation emerged in the aspect that questioned why Errol was allowed to preserve his title, but Bud could not.

When asked his opinion on this discussion, Bud said, “It is what it is. They pick and choose who they want to grant certain things to and if they was going to do something like that I feel like they should’ve stripped Spence prior to the fight given that they knew it was a two-fight deal going into the fight. So who knows. They knew I couldn’t just get out of my contract with Spence to fight Boots, so it is what it is.”

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Also Read: Amid Ongoing Beef, Keith Thurman Gives Unexpected Response to Terence Crawford’s Refusal to Fight Him

The fighter does not seem to care about losing his title, for he has already shown the world that he fought for it and won it. He says, “I came into that fight looking to become undisputed. I became undisputed so there’s nothing there for me to accomplish at that point in time.” 

What lies ahead for him? He says, “I came, I saw, I conquered, and it’s on to the next.” The Spence rematch was to take place in December, but no official confirmation has come on this front. However, it is a fight that will take place at 147, doubled down Crawford. Will Errol Spence Jr. be able to redeem himself against Crawford? Let us know your prediction in the comments section below.

ADVERTISEMENT

Article continues below this ad

Watch this Story: Keith Thurman vs. Mario Barrios Stats: Record, Age, Height, Reach, and Knockout Ratio