Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ trainer Greg Hackett understands why Terence Crawford doesn’t want to fight Boots at this late stage of his 16-year professional career. I feel boxing doesn’t care about fighters, and Crawford doesn’t want to. put his neck on the guillotine to face young, undefeated phenom Boots Ennis (32-0, 29 LOs) to get cut.
Hackett believes Ennis will beat four-division world champion Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) and knock him out. Crawford’s age puts him at the mercy of rising star Boots.
Why Crawford Loses to Boots
- Crawford’s Age: With the 27-year-old Boots Ennis being 10 years younger than the 37-year-old Crawford, Hackett believes this will play a big factor in why he will win. Crawford is like an old car that has a lot of hard road miles. It’s all scratched and weathered, and the engine spews blue smoke. In contrast, Ennis cleared the lot and is in mint condition.
- Too much focus on defense: As we saw in Crawford’s last fight against Israil Madrimov. His work rate is low due to his focus on his defense, and this will give the more aggressive, bolder and busier Ennis to work to win a decision. Crawford has always had a low work rate due to his emphasis on his defense. He got away with that style because he never beat great talent at 135, 140, or 147. Going up against Boots, Crawford would be forced to increase his production or suffer a one-sided loss. Since it’s an older fight, I couldn’t change it. As the saying goes, “Old dogs can’t learn new tricks,” which fits perfectly here.
- Boots’ hardest work: Ennis’ blue collar mentality about his fight, pushing him to work non-stop, would be too much for Crawford, who has a minimalist fighting style.
“I get it. Do you want to see that fight? Yeah, I want to see that fight, but I understand Bud’s point of view just because I know that boxing doesn’t care about you,” trainer Greg Hackett told Fighthype about Terence Crawford’s lack of interest in fighting Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Some fans see Crawford as selfish to refuse to face Boots so he could beat him, take his skin, and become the next massive PPV star in boxing. Fighters in the past were more gifted by agreeing to face the young lions, trying their best, and coming up short. For Crawford to be retained this right of passage is seen as selfishness, especially given that he has only one name in his entire curriculum vitae: Errol Spence.
“In the next five years, we’re going to be talking about a list of other guys. Look at Tim Tszyu. You’re talking about two of the best,” Hackett said of a fight between Crawford and Ennis. “They both have qualities that you need to be a great fighter, and they have many qualities that you need to be a great fighter.
“The only real difference is that one of them (Crawford) is ten years older than the other. That’s the part that will be the main. Will he hear Bud in some places? Where Boots will work, Bud will sometimes be in defense “Sometimes, he’s going to shoot, but it’s not going to be enough to get a win. I think the first time it’s Boots by decision and the second time, it’s going to stop Crawford,” Hackett said.
Ennis is busier and much more aggressive than Crawford was during his career. This has nothing to do with Crawford’s age. He has always had a low work rate and has been a motor type fighter.
It is believed that Shakur Stevenson used Crawford’s fighting style as a blueprint for his own. That style doesn’t work against busier fighters like Boots, who would ground Crawford with body shots, forcing him to stand and fight tooth and nail.
