Jaron Ennis & Artur Beterbiev = Most avoided in boxing says Regis Prograis

By Boxing News - 11/08/2023 - Comments

By Adam Baskin: Regis Prograis says he views welterweight Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis & IBF/WBC/WBO light heavyweight champion Artur Beterbiev as the two most avoided fighters in boxing today.

Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) can’t get fights against the top guys at 147, with Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr., and Keith Thurman showing no interest in facing him.

Jaron Ennis is in a situation where he’s clearly being frozen out by long-time professionals at 147, and he’s unlikely to be given a helping hand by any of them as a stepping stone.

You can’t force the ‘big three’ at 147 to fight Boots, as that’s not how the sport is run. If this were the NFL, the top fighters would be forced to face Boots Ennis, but that’s not how boxing is run.

The Nebraska native Crawford has been waiting for 15 long years to get his first mega-fight, and now that he finally got his wish against the weight-drained, car crash-depleted Spence, he’s not going to want to have his 15 minutes of fame ruined by the young killer Ennis.

Crawford is a good fighter, but not in the class as Ennis. He looked good against Spence because he’s a shell of the guy he once was after what his body has gone through in the last four years.

Terence still has the deluded hopes of being given a fight against Canelo Alvarez, which has no real chance in this lifetime of happening.

The 26-year-old ‘Boots’ Ennis is more trouble than he’s worth for the aging big dogs at 147, Crawford, Spence & Thurman, to want to risk fighting him.  Crawford, 36, only wants major-name fighters like Canelo Alvarez & Jermell Charlo.

Spence could be at the end of the line after he faces Crawford in a rematch next year. If Errol loses that fight, he won’t want to stick around to face Ennis for less than a colossal payday.

The former WBA/WBC welterweight champion Thurman has stalled out his career, waiting on a money fight against Crawford or Spence, which may never happen. Thurman is willing to bet that it will, so he won’t take the risk by going up against Boots Ennis.

Beterbiev (19-0, 19 KOs) is in a different situation, with the division empty of talent & big-name opposition. He says the guy he’s wanted to face, Dmitry Bivol, has been all talk and no action.

Unfortunately for Beterbiev, he’s in a weight class that has no one for him to fight, and that’s not going to change. David Benavidez could move up to 175 in a couple of years, but Beterbiev will be 40 years old by then and probably too old to take advantage of the arrival of the ‘Mexican Monster.’

Brian Custer: “Who is, in your opinion, the most avoided man in boxing?” said Brian Custer to Regis Prgrais on his YouTube channel.

 Regis Prograis: “It might be Beterbiev or [Naoya] Inoue or something. Beterbiev, I don’t think anyone wants to go near him.”

Custer: “What about ‘Boots’ [Ennis]? Would ‘Boots’ be in there?”

Prograis: “My bad. ‘Boots’ for sure. Beterbiev & ‘Boots.’ People don’t want to go near ‘Boots.’ He’s too good and doesn’t have enough names. People definitely don’t want to go near him.

“So, it’s between ‘Boots’ and Beterbiev. I think people would want to fight Inoue, but he’s really good, a scary person to fight.”

Custer: “Another guy I’ll throw in, Shakur Stevenson. Why don’t you think Shakur doesn’t get big fights?”

Prograis: “Shakur is in there too. He’s just too good. People don’t want to deal with that. People avoid him, and his name isn’t big enough. Shakur is in there, too.

“I think Shakur is starting to have a big name. ‘Boots’ is really avoided because he’s really good and hits hard and stuff and has a lot of skills. His name isn’t big enough.

“Shakur has a name, but not like a Tank or a Devin or nothing like that. He does have some type of name, but people don’t want to come close to him right now because people know it’s a hard fight.”

Custer: “I read something about you and Gervonta Davis. Do you think that you and Gervonta Davis could get it on at 140?”

Prograis: “Yeah, for sure. Me and him had words a long time ago. So, after I beat Devin, that’s a fight maybe we can do. For me, it’s big fights and big fights only. That’s all I want. It’s nothing bigger than Gervonta at this weight class.”

Custer: “On December 9th, tell me why I need to watch Regis Prograis & Devin Haney.”

Prograis: “I’m going to stop Devin, that’s it. I truly know this in my head. He’s good, he’s slick, and he has all this stuff, but I’m going to beat him. I’m going to hurt him, I’m going to beat him, and I’m going to stop him.

“I’m not just being cocky for nothing. I’ve been working on this for months already. They said his [Haney] name after my last fight [against Danielito Zorrilla]. So, I’ve been working for this for like forever for months and months, I’ve just been working. I feel like I know that I’m going to beat him.”

Custer: “Are you the best fighter at 140 pounds?”

Prograis: “Of course, I’m the best fighter at 140. I’m not going to say nobody else. Of course, I’m the best fighter at 140. Yeah, for sure.”

Custer: “The best fighter at 140 lbs not named Regis Prograis.”

Prograis: “Probably Teo.”

Custer: “Tank says he’s the face of boxing, and Canelo says he’s the face of boxing. In your opinion, who is?”

Prograis: I feel like you got to give it to Canelo because Canelo has a country behind him. It’s a difference. Tank has a lot of popularity, but Canelo has a whole country.

“As a black American, we can’t get a whole country. The closest person who can do that is a person who has the hate, which is Floyd Mayweather. He did that perfectly.

“Black Americans, we can’t get a whole country behind us. I don’t know why. We just won’t, but Canelo has a whole country of Mexico. So, for me, if you have a whole country, then you’re the face of boxing.”

Custer: “We got ‘The Monster’ David Benavidez taking on Demetrius Andrade. Who wins that fight?”

Prograis: “That’s a good fight. I would lean towards David Benavidez because I know him more.”

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