By Brian Webber: Tim Bradley says welterweight phenom isn’t ready for Terence Crawford yet, and he wants to see him “tested” against a top fighter or an old veteran like Keith Thurman or Danny Garcia to earn his stripes before he undertakes the heavy task of trying to defeat the Omaha, Nebraska native.
Unfortunately for ‘Boots’ Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs), he’s not going to be able to get ‘One Time’ Thurman to fight him because the aging veteran has made it clear that he’s not interested.
Thurman will only fight Boots if he’s dragged into the ring because ‘One Time’ has become a fight hustler at this career stage.
Thurman is busy trying to talk his way into fights that will fill his bank account after many years of inactivity from sitting on the sofa. He’s still trying to land payday fights he doesn’t deserve against Crawford & Errol Spence.
‘Boots’ Ennis is in a bind where he needs the experience to prepare him for fighters like Crawford, but he can’t get the required opposition because he’s being avoided.
Crawford has problems of his own because he is not going to get the guys he wants at 154, with him pining away for a title shot against Jermell Charlo. That’s not happening, so he’s returning to fighting no-names soon after he faces Spence in a rematch in December.
Boots isn’t ready for Crawford
“I respect Ennis. His pops is cool, but who the hell has Boots fought?” said Tim Bradley to Fighthype when asked if Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis would give Terence Crawford a tough fight.
“You’ve been riding that wave and getting all these knockouts of all these different guys, but you’ve never been in the ring with an animal like Crawford.
“When you get in there and get hit upside the head the first time, and you see you can’t do the kind of stuff that you usually do against the guys that you fought at the lower level.
“I would hate for him to get in a fight with Crawford and look average,” Bradley continued about Boots Ennis. “Boots is a spectacular fighter. I’m a fan of Boots. I think he’s next but needs to be tested with a legit [fighter]. He needs to be tested by a guy like Thurman.
“I wish Shawn Porter was still around. He needs to be tested by a guy like Shawn Porter, a Danny Garcia. Veterans, top veterans out there that can punch, guys that can think with him. He needs to be tested by guys like that before I say, ‘Oh yeah, he’s ready for Crawford. Oh yeah, he’s ready for Crawford.’
“I love Ennis a lot, skillful as hell, with great ability, but what happens when you’re not in front of him? What happens then to that Boots? He makes a lot of mistakes and shows a lot of experience rushing in there trying to go for the kill, leaving himself wide open, leaving himself exposed.
“There are a lot of things that come along with that, and guess what? When you get in the ring with Crawford, that knows how to use his feet, that knows how to move and let you come to him. He’s going to set you up, lay a trap, and he’s going to catch you, and he’s going to knock you out.
“You heard it here, folk. Y’all didn’t believe me the first time, and y’all don’t got to believe me now. That’s fine, have your own opinion, but this is my assessment from a fighter that is a Hall of Famer. I’ve done it. I’ve been in the ring with Crawford, and I know what he is capable of doing. Trust me, and I knew he would get to this point sooner or later,” said Bradley.
