With both Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr. reigning atop the welterweight division, Jaron “Boots” Ennis has urged both fighters to quit dancing around him and take him up on his fight offer.
Since stepping onto the national scene several years ago, the 25-year-old has become a 147-pound force, reeling off 19 consecutive knockout victories. As the Philadelphia star continues to run through the competition, many have pegged him as boxing’s next megastar.
Andre Ward, however, has lifted an inquisitive eyebrow in the direction of the switch-hitting contender. While the newly inducted Hall of Famer admits that Ennis (29-0, 27 KOs) appears to be the real deal, the former two-division world champion isn't ready to simply jump on the bandwagon just yet.
“Boots has to answer all the tough questions like all of us had to,” said Ward to BoxingScene.com. “What happens when you get hit in the mouth for the first time? What happens if the fights not going your way? What happens if you get hurt and you get buzzed? What happens when the competition steps up? That’s a question that everybody got to answer. But the eye test? Of course he passes that.”
Whether Ennis is ready or not, his explosive run has resulted in each of the four sanctioning bodies rating him extraordinarily high. Still, even with Ennis holding firm to the number one ranking in the IBF, Spence has shown little to no interest in squaring off against the young gun as of yet.
If a world title opportunity doesn't come calling, Ennis has revealed that he would welcome a matchup against either former unified champion Keith Thurman, or current WBA “Regular” titlist, Eimantas Stanionis.
By all means, Ward confesses that he would be glued to his television set if Ennis were successfully able to lure one of those names into the ring against him. As the 38-year-old former pound-for-pound star continues to watch Ennis’s development, he hopes that he'll be given the chance to prove his worth sooner, rather than later.
“He got great pedigree with his father and his team. He comes from Philly, they real Philly people. Of course you see the pedigree but you gotta see him answer those tough questions to see if he’s elite.”