By Craig Daly: Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis wants his son, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, to have the opportunity to test himself against the welterweight champions Errol Spence Jr and Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford to show “that he belongs” among the best.
That said, Bozy understands why those fighters don’t want to face the unbeaten 25-year-old ‘Boots’ (29-0, 27 KOs) because they can make more money fighting other guys.
Bozy realizes that boxing is business, and the management for fighters will naturally go in the direction of the money. With Spence and Crawford getting up there in age, likely, they’ll never fight Boots because he presents too much risk to them.
Thus far, Boots has fought just once in 2022, stopping Custio Clayton last May to become the IBF mandatory for Spence’s belt with that organization.
The IBF hasn’t ordered Spence to defend against Boots, and it’s possible that if they did, he’d drop the strap like a bad habit rather than risk his neck taking that fight.
“We just want to see. I really don’t know. I want him to be tested to show the world that he belongs where he belongs at,” said Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis to YSM Sports Media when asked if there’s anyone in the welterweight division that’s ready for Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
“He belongs up there at the top. I’m not just going to say. Like I say, and I tell everybody. Spence, and Crawford, they’re great fighters. They’re great fighters. All we want to do is test ourselves to see if we belong there, which I know we do belong there, but we want to get our chance to do that.
“Everybody is saying, ‘This guy is scared of Boots; that guy is scared of Boots.’ Man, listen closely. No fighter is scared of another fighter. It’s business.
“I say it’s business. It ain’t nothing personal. It’s business. Why would you take a chance to fight Boots if you’re at the top right now and you can fight somebody else and probably get more money? That’s the way I look at it.
“This is the game right here today. It’s all about money, too. That’s what it’s all about. It’s not about who are you going to fight next. As I said, they’re all great fighters. We just want to test ourselves,” said Bozy Ennis.
