Ennis does what he needs to do to Avanesyan, but what can he do to Crawford?

WHILE it is true that nobody needed to see Jaron “Boots” Ennis stop David Avanesyan inside five rounds to know that Ennis is the superior fighter, that is not to say Ennis vs. Avanesyan was a wasted fight; or one that didn’t need to happen.

Instead, it was exactly the fight Jaron Ennis needed at this stage in his professional career and for a number of reasons: one, because it allowed him to headline an event at home in Philadelphia and remind us all of a time when local fighters drew decent numbers to their fights; two, because Ennis, despite his growing reputation, is still very much a man building both his career and his profile; and three, because Avanesyan, although not remotely on Ennis’ level, was at least an opponent courageous and busy enough to bring out the best in Ennis and have him excite the fans.

It was for all these reasons, then, that Ennis’ fifth-round stoppage of Avanesyan at Wells Fargo Center tonight (July 13) ticked far more boxes than it left unchecked. Most importantly, Ennis, in stopping Avanesyan between rounds five and six, managed to retain his IBF welterweight title and move his unbeaten record to 32-0 (29). Yet, also, by winning in fine style and by showing no outward fear at the end of the fight, Ennis remains very much in contention to fight Terence “Bud” Crawford perhaps later this year. (Crawford, let’s not forget, fights WBA super-welterweight champion Israil Madrimov on August 3.) “Most definitely, that’s what I want – the big names,” Ennis said during his post-fight interview. “Terence Crawford and anybody else that’s a big name can get it.”

For now, there remains a sense that the money men behind Crawford vs. Ennis want the fight more than the two fighters tasked with eventually throwing punches at one another in a boxing ring. Ennis’ new promoter, Eddie Hearn, certainly has a taste for it, while Turki Alalshikh, the man in the Middle East essentially doing all the spending and promoting on the promoters’ behalf these days, is clearly aroused by the prospect of Crawford and Ennis sharing a ring. He took to social media after Ennis’ latest win to post the following: “I just reached out to boxer Jaron Ennis and Eddie Hearn to congratulate him on his win and I’d love to see Ennis in (a) fight with Crawford at weight (sic) 154 soon.”

Now, if we know anything about the way boxing is being run today, we know this: whatever Turki Alalshikh wants, he gets. That includes the feeling of a promoter’s moist hand in his and it also includes fighters swallowing their pride, putting their egos to one side, and settling a score in the ring. That, for better or worse, is simply the lay of the land at present.

Ennis connects with a riMelina Pizano/Matchroom.

As for whether Ennis is ready for Crawford, the answer is not as straightforward as ideally it should be. Yes, on the one hand, he is ready in the sense that he has had 32 professional fights and is now a mature 27 years of age. And yet, on the other hand, Ennis is still a bit of unknown beyond boxing circles and, despite his talent, it is hard to imagine a fight against Crawford attracting anywhere near the kind of attention we saw Crawford’s 2023 fight against Errol Spence attract. It is, in contrast to that fight, a rivalry quickly fabricated rather than natural and prolonged and one wonders whether a lack of alternatives is what drives Crawford vs. Ennis rather than, say, a desperate need to see them fight. Then again, Crawford, at 35, doesn’t exactly have time to be picky or wait any longer. Already he has spent far too much of his career in relative obscurity and will know, more than anyone, how crucial it is to now rack up the kind of wins that will go on to define his legacy. Ennis, as a future opponent, will clearly help on that front.

He is good, Ennis, of that there is no doubt. His finishing shot against Avanesyan tonight – a scything left to the jaw while on the back foot – was a sign once again of his quality. More than that, the shot reminded us that Ennis has that killer instinct and an eye for a finish, something Crawford too happens to possess and showed to good effect against Spence this time last year. Indeed, it is this ability to both dazzle with skill and then close the show with savagery that sets the likes of Crawford and Ennis apart, as well as making them far more watchable than other technicians whose dominance is sullied by reluctance. In choosing to fight the way they do, both Ennis and Crawford take more shots than they would probably want, but rarely – in fact, never – does this impact the final result. Tonight, for example, Ennis took more shots than he would have liked against Avanesyan, 30-5-1 (18), but all this did in the end was give Avanesyan an ersatz confidence and ultimately lead him towards the punch that broke his jaw and effectively ended his challenge. Similarly, Crawford has never been the most elusive of fighters, yet he too understands the importance of winning the psychological battle with an opponent and breaking their heart, their will and their body as the fight progresses. He also understands the importance of entertaining.

Terence Crawford lands his right hook on Errol Spence (Getty Images)

Back in April, promoter Eddie Hearn said this of Crawford vs. Ennis: “I rate Terence Crawford, but we’re ready to roll the dice, baby – and we believe we’ve got the ‘A’ side.” That’s not strictly true, of course, for there is only one “A side” in that fight (as if such a thing matters), but Hearn did at least make slightly more sense in the lead up to Ennis vs. Avanesyan when saying this: “Terence Crawford vs Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis is the best fight in boxing, unquestionably.”

That comment is one that can still be disputed – there are certainly bigger and more potentially exciting fights to be made in the sport – but from a technical standpoint it is hard to imagine too many fights trumping Crawford vs. Ennis at 154 pounds. Whether that’s ultimately enough for the fight to catch fire, both beforehand and during the fight itself, is anyone’s guess, yet such concerns are inconsequential really. If, in the end, Turki Alalshikh, everybody’s promoter, wants this fight to happen, rest assured that it will happen – and probably sooner than you think.