Trainer Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis is upset about Keith Thurman & WBA ‘regular’ welterweight champion Eimantas Stanionis planning on fighting next because he was hoping that one of them would face his son, IBF champ Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.
Bozy says he’d like the winner of the Thurman-Stanionis fight to face Boots next, but he’s not sure that’ll happen. That’s probably not going to happen, unfortunately.
Echoes of Crawford
The unbeaten ‘Boots’ Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) is being avoided in the same way that Terence Crawford was all these years, and it could take a long time before he becomes popular enough to where guys will want to face him.
It took Crawford 15 years before he became popular, and now that he finally has built up a big name, he’s moving up to 154 and is expected to retire in two or three more fights.
The chances are that Boots will need to move up to 154 & 160 for him to find the fights that he needs to become a superstar. Staying at welterweight is a dead end for him, as it’s empty of stars, and even when Devin Haney arrives, he’s not expected to face him.
Boots being avoided
You can’t blame the 35-year-old former WBA/WBC welterweight champion Thurman (30-1, 22 KOs) for not wanting to fight Boots because he hasn’t fought in two years since February 2022.
It wouldn’t be a good idea for an old guy coming off a long layoff to mix it up with a talent like Boots, especially given that ‘One Time’ still has a dream of Crawford looking his way to bless him with a fight before he retires.
The target that Thurman is clearly aiming for is Devin Haney, who will soon be moving up to 147, as he’s too big for the 140-lb division already.
That’s not likely to happen, but that’s what it’s come to for Thurman. If Keith can get his hands on the WBA belt, he can use that as bait to get a nice payday against Haney. The money that Thurman will get fighting Haney will be an excellent golden parachute to give him a soft landing into retirement.
Thurman has missed out on a lot of fights due to inertia taking hold of him, so he’s got to make up for the millions that he’s lost out on by fighting Haney. Obviously, Keith wants nothing to do with Boots because he’d mess up his chances for a fight with Haney.
Ennis’ time will come
“I was shocked because we’ve been asking for it. You know that. We’ve been asking for Stanionis, and we’ve been asking for Thurman, especially Thurman,” said Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis to YSM Sports Media about Keith Thurman & Eimantas Stanionis potentially fighting next.
“That’s the thing. They go right around us and don’t want to fight us, but that’s alright. Sooner or later, we’re going to get it,” said Bozy, voicing his frustration about his son, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, being avoided by Thurman, Eimantas, and other top contenders at welterweight.
It would be best for Bozy to put Stanionios and Thurman out of his mind permanently, and focus on Boots moving up to 154 to take on unified champion Tim Tszyu. If he wants no part of Boots, too, he can go up to 160 and challenge Janibek Alimkhanuly for his IBF & WBO belts.
“With us? Oh yeah, we want to fight,” said Bozy on whether he would like for Boots to face the winner of the Thurman vs. Stanionis contest,” said Bozy. “Whoever wins, we want to go straight for them. He wants to take a little bit of time off but get right back. We just want to stay busy.
“Stanionis & Thurman? I don’t know. Thurman can box, too. That’s like a 50-50 because Stanionis is a bull. He’s coming at you, throwing a lot of punches,” said Bozy on who wins the Thurman-Stanionis fight.
“Thurman can box and punch, but if I were to lean to someone, I would lean towards Thurman, because Thurman can box and he can punch,” said Bozy.
