Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis has fired back at Terence Crawford, completely dismissing the retired legend’s recent criticism. Following his stoppage win over Xander Zayas, Ennis shrugged off Crawford’s analysis of his defensive flaws, stating the pound-for-pound great is irrelevant because he’s retired.
Crawford is out of the ring, but he’s not staying quiet. The former undisputed champ took to a podcast to call Ennis’s June 27th victory overhyped. While he gave Ennis credit for his athletic talent, Crawford zeroed in on the third round, where Zayas tagged and wobbled the new champion. That, Crawford claims, is a fatal mistake against the division’s elite. He even boasted he is “ten steps ahead” in ring smarts and would have dismantled Ennis by exploiting those exact openings.
But Ennis isn’t losing any sleep over it. The champ is completely brushing off the backseat driving from the boxing great. When asked directly about Crawford’s claims, Ennis made his position perfectly clear. “I don’t care. None of that stuff bothers me. As of right now, he’s retired. What did he say? He said he’s enjoying his retirement, right?”
That response pours cold water on any fan dreams of a superfight. Ennis sees the situation for what it is. Crawford is retired and enjoying life. While the money would be massive, the new two-division titlist insists he has bigger fish to fry among active fighters at junior middleweight. He isn’t interested in chasing ghosts, no matter how famous they are. “You could say (there’s dough in that fight), but there’s other big fights out here for sure, too, though. I don’t consider him anything. I don’t even care. I don’t pay him, or none of these people, no mind,” said Ennis.
The message is simple. Crawford can talk all he wants from the sidelines, but Jaron Ennis is focused on the fighters who are actually stepping through the ropes. The era of ‘Boots’ has begun, and he has no time for opinions from the past.
