BERNSTEIN ON BOXING
and Naoya Inoue, have achieved this with not just talent but also deeds. Usyk fought on the road beating every top cruiserweight in a talented division and then moved up to heavyweight and beat virtually every behemoth that mattered in the division. Rodriguez, even though still very young, has beaten champions – young guns and old lions – at an amazing clip. Inoue took on numerous top challengers and champions in four weight divisions. Though he has carved out a very good career to this point, the 29-year-old Ennis has not done what they did – but he certainly could. Before we talk about what Ennis might be, let’s concentrate on what he has been and is right now. His 10- year career (in some ways it does not feel like a full decade) has included 32 stoppages in 36 fights, many brilliant displays of power, speed, creativity and yes, technique. He has fought a number of good fighters, one very good one and one excellent one. He has dominated virtually everyone he’s faced. I announced eight of those matches, so I chronicled about one-fourth of his pro career while it happened. It included him winning a secondary welterweight title and his first defense. During that period, he fought good, competent fighters (some contenders) and showed he was levels above them. Still, in this world of instant and often exaggerated criticism, in that slice of his career there was the beginning of a narrative that has been used by critics to pick away at him. It is the “he gets hit too much” storyline that reached a crescendo even as he was in the process of stopping Zayas. Boxing fans and even media often decry lack of action in fights and criticize fighters who they believe win with safety-first approaches. So, it is fascinating when they criticize Ennis for having a style that puts him in harm’s way more than others and creates the very excitement fans say they want. One sequence that demonstrates this happened during his 2021 bout against Thomas Dulorme. At the time, Dulorme was a 31-year-old former welterweight contender whose only stoppage losses
were to Luis Carlos Abregu in 2012 and Terence Crawford in 2015, and who had dropped decisions to contender Jamal James and future titleholders Yordenis Ugas and Eimantas Stanionis. In an exciting Round 1, Dulorme was knocked down by Ennis but got up and landed two huge overhand rights in succession – the best he could possibly throw – as Ennis was concentrating on getting a KO. Ennis just shrugged these punches off and seconds later put Dulorme down and out for a stoppage win. I pointed out on the telecast that a lot of drama had unfolded for such a short fight. It was remarkable to see Ennis take those right hands and almost immediately end the fight. Because of his hell-for-leather style that has created those 32 knockouts, Ennis does get hit sometimes by big punches. Zayas was able to get him in trouble during Round 3 of their fight with several terrific power shots that had Ennis holding on momentarily – but even before that round ended, Ennis was back in the pocket, still trading. By the time he came out for the fourth, he had steadied the ship. Much was made about this at the time, despite the dominant nature of Ennis’ eventual win. Yes, the way Ennis fights will allow him to be hit by good fighters, but it has never stopped him from winning a fight. Ennis’ ability to overwhelm his opponents with power in quick, violent intervals is extremely rare. Other than two four-round wins very early in his career, only the clever and mobile Karen Chukhadzhian has been able to avoid succumbing to Ennis as a stoppage victim. But in both of Ennis’ wins over him, a loss for Ennis was never a real possibility. So, until (and we should also say a big IF) someone can stand up to those offensive bursts, any perceived defensive lapses by Ennis will be meaningless. The post-fight analysis of the Zayas fight that centered on Ennis’ future (including the defensive issue) also sometimes demeaned Zayas, thus diminishing the achievement of stopping him. Well, that is nonsense. Zayas may
be young, but had won a title against a very good fighter (Jorge Garcia) and unified titles against another very good fighter (Abass Baraou). Ennis beating him was a statement about where Boots sits in the 154-pound division, which brings us to the future. Whether the supremely talented Ennis becomes more than a world champion and star in the sport is up to him and his team. Can he parlay his great ability and resilience into a generational ranking and superstardom? The 154-pound division is set up for him to do it. There are talented fighters there to create a great legacy if those matchups are made and won. The two other titleholders, Sebastian Fundora and Josh Kelly (who created a big upset to pick up his belt), are foes who come with credentials. And then there is Ortiz. If the dance they once did around a big fight ends up becoming an event, this time it will give Ennis a chance to add a rung to the ladder of being a generational fighter. Ennis is right in his prime, with two world titles and a huge win in his account. The victory even saw him crack The Ring’s pound-for-pound list. No matter what happens now, Ennis has achieved something special in boxing. However, if he wants to be remembered as a great in the sport and finish the job of being one of the faces of this generation of fighters, what happens next is important. The vagaries of boxing politics are often hard to overcome these days in making big matches, but we see regular evidence (like Ennis-Zayas) that it can be done. I have no problem saying that in 45 years of announcing boxing, Ennis is one of the most talented offensive fighters I have ever seen, even going back to the magic era of the 1980s that I chronicled as well. Now we will find out how far that will take him in this second chapter of his career. We know he would likely go in as the favorite against anyone at 154 or below right now. And 160 will probably beckon before his career is over. I do know this: The next chapter in Boots Ennis’ boxing career could be quite a page-turner.
THE BRINK OF GREATNESS By Al Bernstein
Boots gave his best performance yet against the unbeaten Zayas.
The old bromide “to the victor goes the spoils” applies directly to the column you are now reading. While I still believe my earlier column about this division being set up for a dynamic period – and while I absolutely believe the 23-year- old Zayas is still destined for great things – this column is not devoted to those topics. This is about Boots Ennis – a hugely talented fighter with a slightly enigmatic, slow-burning career who demonstrated to all of us that he is someone who could be on the edge of becoming a generational boxer. Some will quibble with my phrasing and say he is already a generational fighter. Well, he is a generational talent, not quite yet a generational fighter. The active generational fighters of this era, like Oleksandr Usyk, Bam Rodriguez
E arlier this year, I wrote a column that zeroed in on the current state of the 154-pound division. I suggested that this talent-filled division was on the cusp of emulating the period between 2017 and 2022 when exciting fights and terrific fighters filled the junior middleweight landscape. I used as my focus the anticipated matchup between Jaron “Boots” Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr. Well, then something happened that, gosh, has never happened before in boxing – the fight completely fell through. But, lo and behold, it was replaced by a different but equally appealing signature fight featuring
unified titleholder Xander Zayas defending his belts against Ennis. The expectations we had for Ennis- Ortiz were more than met in the June 27 Zayas-Ennis match. It was dramatic and exciting with enough shifting tides to make it an undeniably memorable fight. Both fighters were facing by far their best opponent to date, and the fight reflected that. Though he won a convincing stoppage victory, Ennis was more than challenged and had to fight through serious adversity at several points in the fight – especially a memorable Round 3. But fight through it he did, winning on a very big stage against an excellent fighter.
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