By Allan Fox: Hank Lundy sent a message to undisputed welterweight champion Terence ‘Bud’ Crawford that IBF interim champ Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis isn’t to be “f***d with.”
Lundy hardly needs to warn Bud Crawford away because he’s doing an excellent job of steering clear of the dangerous young Boots Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) because he’s made it clear that he’s NOT interested in fighting him.
The 36-year-old Crawford says he only wants the big fights for the remainder of his career, but the only one that he’s guaranteed to get is a rematch with Errol Spence Jr.
Crawford won’t get the silver tuna, Canelo Alvarez, considering the Mexican star doesn’t seen any upside fighting a guy three divisions below his weight class, who some fans believe is just looking for a title shot/payday without earning it through hard work and risk by taking on the Big Four:
David Benavidez
Demetrius Andrade
David Morrell
Caleb Plant
Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) and Spence are expected to fight in early 2024, and if Terence wins, he’ll likely start campaigning hard for a fight with Canelo Alvarez.
When Canelo fails to bite, Crawford will need to make a big decision whether to fight IBF/WBA/WBC junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo or WBO champ Tim Tszyu.
Those are the only money fights for Crawford at 154, and neither will bring him the kind of dough that a match against Canelo would bring him. But given that Crawford isn’t interested in taking on ‘The Big Four’ to earn the Canelo fight, he won’t be given an opportunity to face him.
“‘Does Jaron Ennis stand a chance against Bud?’ I’m going to be real. Boots ain’t to be f***d with, and I ain’t saying that because I’m biased and because he’s with Philly,” said Hank Lundy on social media, talking about Jaron Ennis being a threat to Terence Crawford.
“A lot of people are going to leave Boots alone before he’s young, and I ain’t going to lie. Some of these young [fighters] hunger and energy is crazy. It’s not the same as fighting a guy that’s your age,” said Lundy, taking a shot at 36-year-old Crawford fighting the 33-year-old Errol Spence Jr.
Boots Ennis is going to be avoided until he becomes a superstar, and that’ll take a while, given that the old-timers Crawford, Spence, and Keith Thurman aren’t interested in fighting him to help speed up his rise to stardom.
Fighters like Floyd Mayweather Jr. and Manny Pacquiao were helped out by Oscar De La Hoya to become superstars, but Crawford doesn’t seem interested in letting Boots Ennis use him as a stepping stone to becoming the next big thing.
“They know what they’re doing. They’re going to leave him [Boots Ennis] alone,” said Lundy. “One thing about it. Boots is a big 147-pounder, and he’s cracking on both sides. I’ve been telling people this year.
“When I fought Crawford [in February 2016], they tried to get Boots to walk out with Crawford, and one thing that I respect. Not just him, but I respect his father and his brothers. They know me, I’m Hank Lundy. I’m going to talk my s**t, say what I say, and do what I do.”
It sounds like Boots Ennis didn’t want to be used as a prop to make Crawford look good by walking him out. That wouldn’t have played out well if Boots had done something weak like that.
“I respect what he [Boots Ennis] said. He told them, ‘What? I walk out with Crawford? If I walk out with him, I ain’t going to be able to show my face in Philly,’ and I respected that. They already know that Boots is going to be that guy,” said Lundy.
“Everybody was trying to sign him; everybody was on him. Everybody was making promises, but who showed up? I’m very proud of him, but you got to understand that I fought on cards with both of his brothers.
“To watch him doing his thing. They don’t want to see a guy from their city prevail or do big things. I love that s**t. That makes me want to mess somebody up because I see the young bulls doing it,” said Lundy.
If Crawford doesn’t get any of the big fights that he’s hoping to, he should do the right thing and fight Boots Ennis to become a star overnight with a big win.
