Trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis has lashed out in an interview, criticizing the 147lb champions for not agreeing to fight his son, IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, in a unification match. Bozy wants Jaron to quickly capture the three titles he needs to become the undisputed champion at 147 before moving up to 154.
The champions don’t want to accept the money Ennis’ promoter is offering them for a dangerous fight they might lose. Bozy does not look at the main reason why the fights are not done. He is the promoter of Ennis.
So, instead of fighting a unification, Boots will defend against her IBF mandate Karen Chukhadzhian in a rematch on November 9 at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
“I think it’s harder than Karen. She danced around,” said Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis to Fight Hub TV when asked if WBC super flyweight champion Jesse ‘Bam’ Rodriguez is tougher than Karen Chukhadzhian.
Ennis did a poor job of cutting the ring against Chukhadzhain last year and looked terrible throughout the contest. Boots could not cut the ring and was swinging wildly and missing with his shots because he was in charge.
“We had to take it because it was mandatory. That’s the only thing I think. We don’t really want to fight, but we had to take it because it was mandatory. I don’t like it, but we have to do it, but it will be different this time” , Bozy said about how Boots Ennis was forced to take the fight with Karen Chukhadzhian because the IBF ordered him to.
Boots could have vacated his IBF title and moved to 154 instead of fighting Chukhadzhian. His promoter could have gotten one of the other champions to fight him if he had offered them enough money.
“We’re not looking for knockouts. If it shows up, we’ll take it, but that’s what we’re going to do because people like to see a knockout, but we’re not going to look for it. If it shows up, we’ll have it to be taken,” said Bozy about Boots Ennis coming to KO Chukhadzhian on November 9.
“Wake up, and let’s fight. Stop bull-crapping around. Act like you want to fight, and then you don’t want to fight,” Bozy said about his message to the welterweight division. “That’s my message to all the 147 who had the belts. I don’t know if it’s your people behind you or just you who choose who you want to fight.”
It’s not the other champions’ fault that the offers made to them by Boots Ennis’ promoter Eddie Hearn aren’t enough to get them the deal. They won’t agree to fight Ennis for less than they feel the fight deserves. After all, all three champions can make more money in the long run by keeping their titles instead of accepting what Hearn is offering.
“We thought he came to fight. He came to dance,” Bozy said. “I think Canelo has earned his way. He’s put in his time. That’s what I think. He can pick and choose who he wants. They can talk about anything they want. He made all that money. So, he can do what he wants .
“That’s what we want to do after we get the belts. After we get a chance to get them because it’s hard for him to fight,” Bozy said when asked if Ennis might want to move up to 154 because the 147 lb. division is quiet now, and he had difficulty getting the other champions to fight against him.”
At some point, Bozy will need to see the writing on the wall and realize that it will take too many years of his son Boot’s career for him to collect all the belts at welterweight. What Bozy doesn’t need is that Boots is 35 years old and still trying to unify the welterweight division.
“Eventually, we’re going to move up to 154, and then we’re going to go to 160 and maybe 168. We’re on a quest. Those who have the title. Those are the ones I want,” said Bozy when asked who he wants Boots Ennis to fight after Chukhadzhian on November 9. “If we can’t get any of them, we’re probably going to move on.”
Ennis should move on now because it is obvious that his promoter is not going to invest the necessary money in his career to get the other three champions to agree to fight. Some would argue that if Anthony Joshua was the precious gem of the Matchroom stable, promoter Eddie Hearn would cough up the two or three million to get the other champions to fight at warp speed. It would already be done. But since this is just Boots Ennis, Hearn is tight-fisted to invest in his career by overpaying to get other champions to fight him.
Boots Ennis will need to improve his game if he is going to be successful at 154, 160 and 168 because he took a lot of punishment against David Avanesyan and Roiman Villa at 147.
It doesn’t seem feasible that Ennis will be able to make the jump to 154 to capture titles, especially if he uses the best years of his career to try to become the undisputed welterweight champion. He is about to turn 28, and has no unification fight in sight.
If the promoter of Ennis, Eddie Hearn, refuses to meet the price of other champions, he needs to understand that he will never get the unfication battles that he needs, unless His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wants to help.
I don’t know why him, but there is always a possibility. That might be what the other welterweight champions are waiting for. They want the big money Turki offered them to fight Boots, which is completely understood on their part. Why would they agree to the $1.7 million that Hearn is offering them when they can get many more millions from Turki? Hearn’s offer is chicken feed compared to what Turki could potentially give to fight Ennis and relinquish his titles.
“It was a good fight. I had Bivol beat,” Bozy said when asked if he watched last Saturday’s lightweight champion fight between champions Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. “(Beterbiev) got to the end because Bivol slowed down, but I beat him.
“I think they should come back, and I think it’s going to be a different situation this time because it looked like he got blown out in the last two rounds,” Bozy said of Bivol.
Bozy isn’t saying how he sees the rematch ending differently between undisputed lightweight champion Artur Beterbiev and Dmitry Bivol. It will be difficult for Bivol to improve on the amount of moves he made Saturday night without giving up rounds due to a lack of offense. He will be tired from all the moves he makes and will be stopped by Beterbiev. It is interesting that Bozy had problems with Chukhadzhian’s constant movement, but it was good that Bivol did the same.
“It’s another good fight,” Bozy said of the Dec. 21 rematch between former WBC heavyweight champion Tyson Fury and three-belt unified champion Oleksandr Usyk. “Usyk is a good boxer. He moves, and then you have Fury. He is a good boxer. If he is in good condition, I think it will be a different situation. I think Fury could end up winning.
“If he wins, it will be 1-1. So, they have to break the tie,” Bozy said.
Assuming Fury wins the rematch against WBA, WBC and WBO heavyweight champion Usyk on December 21, the trilogy will likely have to wait until Tyson fights Anthony Joshua once or twice. His Excellency Turki Alalshikh wants to see Fury vs. Joshua, and it is believed that they will fight twice before moving on to other fights or retiring.
