Boots is a PROBLEM

If Porter was 5 years younger. He would RUN Ennis out of the ring. Ennis is no Wilder. He gives average fighters a chance to hit him. His team is STILL selecting NOBODIES for a reason. To me he’s a Broner, Kahn or Devon Alexander. I want to see Ennis against a real threat and to me it doesn’t need to be Spence or Crawford. I think OLD Garcia, Thurman and Porter would retire him.

All but one. He still is eating punches. That's got to stop if he wants to have any shot at beating Spence or Crawford. He caught some punches because he was offensively minded. He wouldn't have been able to get stoppage if he wasn't that offensively minded. He also showed good defense. He has a shot to beat Bud and Spence. I'm not saying I would pick him to beat them, but he's a legitimate challenger. Hopefully he fights Stanionis and Thurman in the meantime.

Considering how long its taken for us to get Spence/Bud dont expect either of them to face Ennis anytime soon, maybe ever.

He ain’t ready for Terence TBE Crawford.

It's pretty amazing that people watch the fight but don't seem to have any idea what they're looking at. The eye test requires you to know what you're looking at. When you outclass your opponent, and he did that thoroughly against the #10 Ring ranked contender, you look at how he does it. You don't just say "well his style was made for Ennis." Because he didn't just win a competitive fight. He swept basically every round, and did so doing a ton of different things. Let's start with basics. Jab. Is it there? Can the fighter land it with consistency? Does the fighter alter the intensity, rhythm, and trajectory? Can the fighter use it to disrupt their opponent and prevent them from starting offense? Does the fighter go to the body with it? Are they defensively responsible on the exit or are they getting hit? Does the fighter use the jab to set up other shots? Do they double or triple it up? Do they use it as traffic to prevent their opponent from being able to throw their own jab or cross? Boots demonstrated all aspects of a good jab, and did so from both stances. Body work. Do they do it at all? Do they alter trajectory and type (body hooks, straights, etc). Do they have enough power to have it affect their opponent? Are they going to head to set it up, or switching levels frequently to set up shots? Boots could have gone to the body more consistently and did some head hunting, but he DID go to the body regularly, although he was better at using body hooks on the right. I would like to see him use more liver hooks, and target the liver more with his body crosses, and time it as a counter to the cross so he can get the liver flush as the body rotates in. Defense, adjustments, and chin. Are they getting hit a lot? Is their head always in the center, or do they change lanes, especially on entries and exits and sometimes as they punch? Do they pull back straight in the center lane, or do they angle out? Do they use frames and posts to set up shots or prevent their opponents from getting off? If they do get hit by the same shot several times in a round, do they make adjustments and stop getting hit with that shot again? Are they doing the same patterns so the opponent can set them up? Are they consistently defensively responsible (hands up when in range, or taking a good positional defense, or occupying the center with traffic or blinding shots or a well timed jab or lead cross, etc). If they do get hit flush, how do they take it? If they're affected, how do they respond? Do they just dive in and try to tie up blindly, do they cover up and try to just survive, do they try to counter blindly, or do they have an educated response, like using head and body movement to survive and exit? Boots demonstrated very good defense for the most part. He had a few bad habits but used positioning or hand frames to mitigate and didn't really fall into a consistent pattern that could have gotten him set up. He got hit flush a few times and didn't seem to be affected at all, and that's against a guy who's primary game is power punching, with close to a 90% KO rate going in. He got hit by a bunch of uppercuts in one round, and then made the adjustment and didn't get hit consistently by that shot again. I'm not concerned by the crosses he got hit with for the most part because he was using a body defense on most of those and clearly saw them coming, so they mainly didn't affect him at all. When he got caught and had a flurry come at him, he was able to dodge most of the incoming, and use a bump, frame, and pivot exit to get out of danger without taking more damage. Power and speed. Do they sit down on their punches? Are they crisp and clean? Are they using weight transfer or just arm punching? Do they alter tempo and power or is it the same all the time so the opponent can get used to it? Do they load up? Are they in balance at all times? Can you hear the punches? How do they affect the opponent? Are they faster than the opponent, or if not, do they have the timing to beat the speed? Do they only have power in one hand or a few punches, or can they hurt their opponent with any tool? I shouldn't need to say much here. He's got speed and power in abundance. Timing could have been better, but he was in control the whole time. Footwork and ring awareness. What's their distance control like? Can they take angles? Do they know where they are in the ring? Can they cut off the ring if they're on the front foot? Can they use pivots to escape or get an angle to land a shot. Do they get off balance? Are they flat footed all the time? Boots clearly has the skills, but didn't use them as consistently as his corner wanted. He did get stuck on the ropes unexpectedly a few times, which tells me how ring awareness isn't complete yet. His fight against Chukadzian says he needs to work on cutting off the ring more effectively, although that's very hard against a skilled runner who doesn't come to fight. He can fight effectively from both stances, and was effective on the front foot, moving back, in the pocket, and in close. Just in this one fight, he demonstrated he can fight and dominate in multiple styles and stances, hurt his opponent with basically every tool in a very wide set of punches, and stop a ranked contender who was very tough and powerful and had never been stopped before. He's got frames and pins, hand fighting, long guard, high guard, Philly shell, body defense, positional defense, and head movement. He's got a more diverse skill set than many of the P4P stalwarts. He's got flaws, but so do all fighters, and we're not talking anything that looks like it could lose him a round, let alone a fight. When the flaws are more about "you could maybe have stopped this undefeated guy who's never been down before even faster", or "you might have lost one round", that's a different thing than "you came forward face first without a jab or changing lanes." He's going to be a tough out for anyone in the division, and is likely going to be king. I doubt he'll be able to get Spence or Crawford at 147 any time soon if at all, and if he fights Ugas or Thurman, it's going to be a vacant title fight. Stanionis will likely be a unification, and I don't fancy Stanionis' chances in that. Ortiz probably not until 154, if ever, because of those health problems. heh. Not convinced yet. He looked like garbage in his last fight before this one and bud just knocked out a fighter in David that I feel is leaps and bounds above roman. A prime porter wrecks boots, thurman gives him a great fight. Spence and bud beats him at this point. Ugas has a chance of beating him. Just need to see more from boots on a way higher level.

boots and shakur have been labelled generational fighters for as long as i can remember hearing about them, now ive jumped on the bandwagon of guys over the years & u really only know when they fight the top guys, its great to see guys hyped up like that, i never understood for example the hate that loma and maybe ggg got for getting a bit of hype, even tho they they were actually far more accomplished at the time too, so hype is good, if hes so good then he should be ready to take out crawford for example, there have been plenty of guys in the past who have dismantled lower ranked guys with ease, u could even put tank davis in that bracket too actually

It's pretty amazing that people watch the fight but don't seem to have any idea what they're looking at. The eye test requires you to know what you're looking at. When you outclass your opponent, and he did that thoroughly against the #10 Ring ranked contender, you look at how he does it. You don't just say "well his style was made for Ennis." Because he didn't just win a competitive fight. He swept basically every round, and did so doing a ton of different things. Let's start with basics. Jab. Is it there? Can the fighter land it with consistency? Does the fighter alter the intensity, rhythm, and trajectory? Can the fighter use it to disrupt their opponent and prevent them from starting offense? Does the fighter go to the body with it? Are they defensively responsible on the exit or are they getting hit? Does the fighter use the jab to set up other shots? Do they double or triple it up? Do they use it as traffic to prevent their opponent from being able to throw their own jab or cross? Boots demonstrated all aspects of a good jab, and did so from both stances. Body work. Do they do it at all? Do they alter trajectory and type (body hooks, straights, etc). Do they have enough power to have it affect their opponent? Are they going to head to set it up, or switching levels frequently to set up shots? Boots could have gone to the body more consistently and did some head hunting, but he DID go to the body regularly, although he was better at using body hooks on the right. I would like to see him use more liver hooks, and target the liver more with his body crosses, and time it as a counter to the cross so he can get the liver flush as the body rotates in. Defense, adjustments, and chin. Are they getting hit a lot? Is their head always in the center, or do they change lanes, especially on entries and exits and sometimes as they punch? Do they pull back straight in the center lane, or do they angle out? Do they use frames and posts to set up shots or prevent their opponents from getting off? If they do get hit by the same shot several times in a round, do they make adjustments and stop getting hit with that shot again? Are they doing the same patterns so the opponent can set them up? Are they consistently defensively responsible (hands up when in range, or taking a good positional defense, or occupying the center with traffic or blinding shots or a well timed jab or lead cross, etc). If they do get hit flush, how do they take it? If they're affected, how do they respond? Do they just dive in and try to tie up blindly, do they cover up and try to just survive, do they try to counter blindly, or do they have an educated response, like using head and body movement to survive and exit? Boots demonstrated very good defense for the most part. He had a few bad habits but used positioning or hand frames to mitigate and didn't really fall into a consistent pattern that could have gotten him set up. He got hit flush a few times and didn't seem to be affected at all, and that's against a guy who's primary game is power punching, with close to a 90% KO rate going in. He got hit by a bunch of uppercuts in one round, and then made the adjustment and didn't get hit consistently by that shot again. I'm not concerned by the crosses he got hit with for the most part because he was using a body defense on most of those and clearly saw them coming, so they mainly didn't affect him at all. When he got caught and had a flurry come at him, he was able to dodge most of the incoming, and use a bump, frame, and pivot exit to get out of danger without taking more damage. Power and speed. Do they sit down on their punches? Are they crisp and clean? Are they using weight transfer or just arm punching? Do they alter tempo and power or is it the same all the time so the opponent can get used to it? Do they load up? Are they in balance at all times? Can you hear the punches? How do they affect the opponent? Are they faster than the opponent, or if not, do they have the timing to beat the speed? Do they only have power in one hand or a few punches, or can they hurt their opponent with any tool? I shouldn't need to say much here. He's got speed and power in abundance. Timing could have been better, but he was in control the whole time. Footwork and ring awareness. What's their distance control like? Can they take angles? Do they know where they are in the ring? Can they cut off the ring if they're on the front foot? Can they use pivots to escape or get an angle to land a shot. Do they get off balance? Are they flat footed all the time? Boots clearly has the skills, but didn't use them as consistently as his corner wanted. He did get stuck on the ropes unexpectedly a few times, which tells me how ring awareness isn't complete yet. His fight against Chukadzian says he needs to work on cutting off the ring more effectively, although that's very hard against a skilled runner who doesn't come to fight. He can fight effectively from both stances, and was effective on the front foot, moving back, in the pocket, and in close. Just in this one fight, he demonstrated he can fight and dominate in multiple styles and stances, hurt his opponent with basically every tool in a very wide set of punches, and stop a ranked contender who was very tough and powerful and had never been stopped before. He's got frames and pins, hand fighting, long guard, high guard, Philly shell, body defense, positional defense, and head movement. He's got a more diverse skill set than many of the P4P stalwarts. He's got flaws, but so do all fighters, and we're not talking anything that looks like it could lose him a round, let alone a fight. When the flaws are more about "you could maybe have stopped this undefeated guy who's never been down before even faster", or "you might have lost one round", that's a different thing than "you came forward face first without a jab or changing lanes." He's going to be a tough out for anyone in the division, and is likely going to be king. I doubt he'll be able to get Spence or Crawford at 147 any time soon if at all, and if he fights Ugas or Thurman, it's going to be a vacant title fight. Stanionis will likely be a unification, and I don't fancy Stanionis' chances in that. Ortiz probably not until 154, if ever, because of those health problems.

He SHOULD be ready now but seeing how they have HELD him away from the top fighters for 31 professional fights. I sense concern.

Boots -Crowley next please. And I wonder why Yeleussinov doesn`t fight, 147 is not really a great division, he can have success there.

being a problem is one thing, having a solution is another, broner was The Problem

Boots was sharp all the way to the end of the fight. His weakness is that he loses concentration at times because looks like he is communicating with his corner. He does get clipped when he gets too offensive but showed again a good chin. He would be very competitive against Spence or Bud, he didn't even get pushed hard agains a hard charging Villa that had not quit. He went hard to the body and head, he slugged, he showed defense, counter punching, great jab from either side. He is not hype.

He's a good fighter but people going well over the top he beats 1 top 10 guy and suddenly he's favored over Spence/Crawford what kind of bs is that though people need to chill out a bit and let him continue beating other top 10 guys.

Boots leaves a few openings don't worry about that, I really like the way he rolls of punches takes all the power of them, I think Villa is about on the level of Avanesyan. I thought boots would stop him earlier to be honest but he was beating him up all the way Villa will feel it tomorrow. Exactly. Villa was tailor-made for Boots. This outcome was expected.

This is the correct answer. Ennis showed improvement, significant improvement. But he's still making the occasional silly mistakes. Which he got away with when it's an opponent who (by Boots' words) is "tailor made" for him. We can't overlook the fact that he almost got taken the distance again when half of NSB said he'd take Villa out inside of 6. He doesn't have the same success against Spence or Crawford, and he doesn't land nearly as efficiently against Keef. I don't think Stankonia gets past him easily, but what we do know that someone who can move and strike will test Boots again, and that's who he should fight next, is a highly skilled boxer to see if he's improved in that area. Crowley might be interesting. But he deserves accolades for getting rid of eye test killa Villa. He did all the things you said he needed to do to get credit for the win.

Calm down. He didn't beat anyone in top 10. Spence and Crawbum would end Villa earlier. You wouldn't have said that if he was a WHITE guy

Am I missing something here? He looks to be a talented fighter but as far as I can tell he hasn’t even beaten a ranked opponent yet? he just beat top 10 guy by The Ring.

Am I missing something here? He looks to be a talented fighter but as far as I can tell he hasn’t even beaten a ranked opponent yet?

When you're trying to get an iron chinned, face first brawler out of there to make a statement, you're going to miss a few times and catch a few punches yourself in the process. Brutally impressive performance from Boots. Zero holes in his game detected. ​ Boots leaves a few openings don't worry about that, I really like the way he rolls of punches takes all the power of them, I think Villa is about on the level of Avanesyan. I thought boots would stop him earlier to be honest but he was beating him up all the way Villa will feel it tomorrow.

When you're trying to get an iron chinned, face first brawler out of there to make a statement, you're going to miss a few times and catch a few punches yourself in the process. Brutally impressive performance from Boots. Zero holes in his game detected. ​

He is not a problem, he is the new welterweight star.