Jaron Ennis says Spence won’t return to 147 if he fights Thurman at 154

By Boxing News - 01/12/2023 - Comments

By Huck Allen: Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis predicts that Errol Spence Jr will not return to the 147-lb division after he faces Keith Thurman at 154 in April. Ennis notes that the 32-year-old Spence (28-0, 22 KOs) is getting older, and his body can’t easily make 147 any longer.

With that said, Boots Ennis says the only way Spence could return to 147 would be for a big fight. More likely, Spence will remain at 154 after his fight with former WBA/WBC welterweight champion ‘One Time’ Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) in April.

If you saw how skeletal Spence looked last April in making weight for his fight with Yordenis Ugas, it makes sense why he wouldn’t want to continue fighting in the 147-lb division. Spence looked unhealthy.

Naturally, Ennis isn’t happy at hearing that Spence is going up to 154 because he recognizes that he and Terence Crawford won’t be getting a fight against him unless they move up in weight to meet him in the junior middleweight division.

Spence’s decision to face Thurman instead of Boots Ennis and Crawford signals that he views that as too much of a threat to fight them, so he’s taking the toothless old lion, whose mane is now shaggy, showing age like an old rug.

“If he’s fighting Keith Thurman at 154, I feel like he’s not coming back down. I feel like he’s getting older now, and his body. I guess he’s going to move up,” said Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to YSM Sports Media about Errol Spence Jr.

You can relate to Spence not wanting to fight Crawford and Boots Ennis. After coming close to getting knocked out by 35-year-old Yordenis Ugas last April, Spence knows which way the wind blows, and he’s not going to let the shark-like Ennis & Crawford tear him apart.

“I doubt if he’s fighting at 154 that he’ll come back to 147 to fight me or Bud [Crawford],” said Ennis. “I feel like he’s going to stay at 154 unless he’s testing his body to see how it feels at 154. But I doubt he’s ever going to come back to 147 again unless it’s for a big fight.

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“I can’t see that happening at 154, but how are they doing to do it without any belts?” said Boots Ennis when asked if there’s a possibility that Spence and Terence Crawford could fight at 154.

“Everybody wants to see them fight for the undisputed [at 147]. With them fighting at 154, it doesn’t make sense. It makes more sense. I don’t know what they’re going to do and what they got going on.

“Hopefully, they get it together fast and fight me. I hate sitting around, wondering, ‘Are these guys ever going to fight?’ You got to be patient, and that’s what I’m doing. I’m being patient.

“In the meantime, if I don’t get Errol Spence, Keith Thurman, or Bud, I want to stay active this year. I want to fight at least three times. I’m trying to get back in there asap with anybody.

“Spence is going to stop Thurman,” said Ennis when asked who wins the Spence vs. Thurman fight. “It doesn’t matter if it’s at 147 or 154, Spence is going to stop him.

“Thurman is good, but he’s a little older, and I don’t think he’s going to be able to stand Errol Spence’s pressure,” said Boots.