By Chris Williams: Andre Ward says Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis will not get a shot against Errol Spence Jr or Terence Crawford right now. Ward says Boots Ennis (29-0, 27 KOs) is “too dangerous” for those guys.
Once Spence & Crawford “move on,” Boots will get his shot, says Ward. Unless those two intend on retiring soon, they will not be able to swerve Ennis without it looking obvious that they’re ducking him.
It’s a depressing future outlook that Ward has involving Ennis. The old-school fighters from years ago wouldn’t have ducked Ennis.
They would have fought him because that’s what sports are all about, but it’ll be said if Ward turns out to be right about Boots not getting a shot until after Spence & Crawford move on.
Boots has already said that he will move up to junior middleweight after he collects the titles at 147, and once he’s at 154, there will be no escape for Spence & Crawford.
If Ward turns out to be right about his prediction of the 25-year-old Boots being frozen out by Spence & Crawford, that’s disappointing because many boxing fans want to see them face him.
There’s not a lot of talent at 154 beyond Jermell Charlo and Tim Tszyu right now. When Crawford and Spence move up in weight, they will quickly find out there’s no one to fight in that division.
Boots won’t get a shot
“Spence doesn’t need to fight anybody,” said Andre Ward to Fighthype about who Errol Spence Jr should fight next.
“If he’s done with boxing, which I don’t think he is, he should fight somebody just like Terence is fighting somebody. Stay busy, keep the rust off, and then go back to the negotiations to see if you can make it happen.
“They’re not going to give Boots a shot. He’s too dangerous, and here’s the thing. You can’t blame them. That’s the young crop coming in.
“Hey, bro, let us get done what we got going on, and this is actually a sign of respect to Boots. They’re not scared of Boots. They’ve been fighting their whole life. It’s a business, and you got to think like that.
“He’s [Boots] is a young, hungry dude with everything to gain, still building his fan base. They know he can fight. He’s NOT going to get a shot right now. He’ll get a shot once Errol and Terence decide to move on.
Ennis must prove himself
“Boots has to answer all the tough questions just like all of us had to. What happens when you get hit in the mouth for the first time? What happens if the fights not going your way? What happens if you get hurt or you get buzzed?
“What happens when the competition steps up? That’s a question that everybody has to answer. With the eye test, of course, he passes that. He has great pedigree with his father and his team. He comes from Philly, they real Philly people.
“Of course, you see the pedigree, but you’ve got to see him answer those tough questions like we all had to for us to see if he’s elite.
“Devin Haney had to give up a lot to make that fight [George Kambosos Jr] twice, and if it had went wrong for him, what would everybody say? ‘He’s crazy; he shouldn’t have did it. He’s not a draw. That’s why he had to go over there.’
“I know we give the fans a lot of credit, and we should, genuine fans, but you got to do what’s best for you and hope the fans understand it and hope they come on board with you. But you can’t just do it just for the fans.
“You got to do it for your family, and you got to make the right business decisions. Haney did what was best for him. He put all that email champion noise to bed, and he’s in the driver’s seat right now. It’s amazing how a little bit of time changes things,” said Ward.
