I was interviewed by legendary boxing analyst Al Bernstein recently on the Salita Promotions YouTube Page. In the interview, we talked about how fights are scored, Boots Ennis, Fundora-Thurman and more. You can watch the interview here.
Matchroom Boxing hosted an evening of pugilism in
Philadelphia on Saturday that featured many of their top American boxers. Four
were victorious and one would suffer his first defeat. There's a lot to
dissect from these performances, so let's jump right in!
Boots vs. Karen
Jaron "Boots" Ennis fought a mandatory defense,
and rematch, against Karen Chukhadzhian. The two first met in January 2023, which resulted in a one-sided unanimous decision win for Ennis. The most notable aspect
of the fight was that Karen was able to take Boots the distance. In the
interim, Karen had done very little to warrant becoming a mandatory challenger
for Boots' welterweight title, yet here they were. Would the rematch be any
different?
Actually, it was. Karen was far more aggressive on Saturday, spending significant portions of the fight on his front foot. When they fought last year, Karen was happy to play it safe on the outside, but in the rematch, he was far feistier.
Boots started off well and really focused on commanding the action with his jab. But as the rounds started to pile up, the same criticisms of Boots in past fights manifested: he sacrificed too much defense for offense, he was loading up on big shots for a knockout, and in a new twist, it looked as if the physicality of the fight was taking a bit of a toll on him (there was a lot of holding and grappling; Karen was deducted a point for holding).
Boots did score a knockdown in the fifth from a barrage of
power punches and he landed plenty of eye-catching shots throughout the fight.
To my eyes, the fight was never in doubt for him, but Karen was far from
intimidated. During several portions of the back-half of the fight, Karen
connected with blistering right hands and left hooks. Although not a puncher, these
were clean and impressive shots that exposed Boots' defensive shortcomings.
Boots was so concerned with getting the knockout that he wasn't interested in defending
what was coming back at him. As a result, he tasted a lot of leather. Boots did win a unanimous decision (119-108, 117-110 and 116-111), but it was far from a clean victory.
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| Photo courtesy of Matchroom Boxing |
As I've stated in a previous column about Boots, he might happen to have an incredible chin, so we can't say with certainly that he is a knockout waiting to happen. But at the very least, Karen won three and four rounds on two scorecards. That was not an accident of judges being overly generous. The point of boxing is to win, and Boots' porous defense is making it harder for him to be victorious. Boots remains an offensive dynamo, but there are two sides to the sport.
Boots didn't seem thrilled by his performance in the
aftermath of the fight. I think that now he realizes the margins are much
thinner at the top levels of boxing. What worked stopping lesser fighters is no
longer the same. This is a pivotal moment in his career. Does he want to be a
fun action fighter or does he aspire to something more, like greatness? If it's
the latter, then there's a lot of work to be done.
Bam vs. Guevara
Every now and then, you see something so sublime in boxing
that you have to check a replay to make sure that your eyes didn't deceive you.
In the third round Jesse "Bam" Rodriguez trapped Pedro Guevara in
a corner and then Guevara just folded to the canvas in an instant, and the fight was over. What was the
shot that landed? What was so forceful? Did Bam slip in a quick uppercut?
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| Photo courtesy of Matchroom Boxing |
Ringside, a number of the media initially thought that it was a right uppercut that did the damage, which would have been impressive in that it wasn't Bam's dominant back hand, the left. But what actually happened was even more breathtaking. With Guevara right in front of him along the ropes, Bam shifted his weight and momentarily went orthodox to land the right uppercut from that position. It was the backhand, but it was now the right hand from the orthodox stance. In real time, this switch was practically imperceptible, but Bam was so effortless and fluid with his movement. It's another example of Bam having elite footwork in the pocket.
Guevara was no mug. He had always gone the distance before.
His losses had all been by split or majority decision. He has been a rugged
contender. And here he was wiped out in the third round. This was next-level
stuff by Bam, who was making a junior bantamweight title defense. And however seasoned Guevara might have been, he did not
anticipate Bam's final uppercut, nor did he see it coming. He was outfought and outthought by a master boxer. It was
thrilling stuff.
Ford vs. Gonzalez
Raymond Ford made his junior lightweight debut on Saturday
against a credible B-level fighter in Orlando Gonzalez. What amazed me about
Ford's performance was how his style has morphed from his early years in the sport. During his development
fights, he was a classic boxer who used his legs and hand speed. He was not a
big puncher and if anything, he was accused of over-moving at times and not
sitting down on his shots.
But something changed with Ford over 2024. In March he was
being outboxed by Otabek Kholmatov and Ford made a bold decision to take the
fight on the inside. He wound up scoring a memorable 12th-round stoppage to win
a world featherweight title. In June, he was being outworked by pressure
fighter Nick Ball in the first half of their fight and yet it was Ford who
became the pressure fighter in the second half. Although he dropped a razor-thin split decision in that fight, the newfound belief in his inside fighting
and power was evident.
On Saturday he fought Gonzalez as a walk-down power puncher.
There was little of the lateral movement or fancy footwork from Ford's earlier
career. Instead, Ford was coming in the front door all night behind bombs. He
landed two picture-perfect knockdowns with right hooks in the second and eighth
rounds. The lead hook in the eighth was so spectacular that I had to resist the
urge to stand up and applaud. The knockdown was that sublime. That hook so damaged Gonzalez that he spent
the rest of the fight running and holding. He was no longer interested in
engaging.
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| Photo courtesy of Matchroom Boxing |
Ford wound up winning by a virtual shutout on the cards. I thought that his gas tank looked a little better than it had in previous fights. Although his effort may not have been full-throttle every round, he was still piling up points. More impressively, he looked very comfortable with his style, like he had finally found himself in the ring. He may not be a true one-punch knockout guy, but he has enough power and hand speed to trouble anyone at 130 lbs.
Coe vs. Gallegos
If you ever want to watch a fight where it all goes wrong
for a top prospect, you could start here. Khalil Coe was on the fast track at
light heavyweight and entered Saturday's fight at 9-0-1 with seven knockouts.
In his last three fights, he was a destroyer, ending each bout within two rounds.
From the opening bell, Coe looked fresh. He had the power
and speed advantage over Manuel Gallegos, who had not fought in over a year. In Gallegos' last fight, he was knocked out by Diego Pacheco in four rounds at super
middleweight. All of this seemed to be set up to make Coe look good.
Coe was landing some hellacious shots early, but then a
funny thing happened: Gallegos wouldn't go down. And then he kept firing back.
Hitting Coe with crisp counter right hands and left hooks to the body, Gallegos
seemed to be enjoying the slugfest.
Instead of making adjustments, Coe doubled down on going to
war. How was this guy still here? I will try even harder to stop him. But
Gallegos kept pressing forward and dropped Coe with a left hook to the body in
the fifth. Coe came up firing, which galvanized the crowd. Both exchanged huge
shots, but it looked like Coe got the worst of it.
By the sixth, Coe's legs didn't look like they once did. And
Gallegos took control of the fight. A flurry of power punches dropped Coe in
the seventh. Additional power punches dropped Coe in the eighth. And Coe was
now a shell of himself. Nobody seemed interested in stopping the fight even
though Coe was taking a vicious beating. A final left hook to the body
dropped Coe in the ninth and the ref finally waved the fight off.
This fight didn't have to play out the way it did. Although there was no guarantee that Coe would have won if he had chosen to box more and not go
to war, he certainly would have had more of a chance. He had been a decorated amateur boxer after all. It wasn't always about power with him. But Coe wound up playing into Gallegos' hands. Coe was
certain he would win a war of power punching.
It was this belief, and a lack of respect for his opponent,
that led to his demise. Coe could have tried to make Gallegos earn it the hard
way, but there Coe was landing a huge shot and just staying right in the
pocket, expecting Gonzalez to hit the canvas, and completely surprised when
Gonzalez fired off a blazing counter. This pattern played out throughout the fight. Like Boots' performance, it was an example of a fighter
who had developed bad habits. Coe believed too much in his power and not enough
in what his opponent could do. He paid the price.
Williams vs. Garrido
Austin "Ammo" Williams suffered a physically
devastating defeat in his last fight against Hamzah Sheeraz, where he was
dropped in the 10th and stopped in the 11th. For his comeback fight, he
was matched up against little-known Gian Garrido, a fighter who had recently
been knocked out in a six-rounder. This was supposed to be a get-well
fight for Williams. But, if we are being honest, Ammo... didn't look too well.
The ledger will show that Williams won Saturday's fight by fifth-round stoppage, and in truth, his power punching really came alive during that round. But prior to that, he looked listless. His legs were ponderous. He struggled to put punches together and at points Garrido was much quicker. At the end, Williams' sharper punching was the difference, but he looked far from a recent middleweight title challenger.
Williams may need to take some time out of the ring to get back to his best. Saturday
was not an issue of ring rust or inactivity. Sometimes a fighter just doesn't
look right and I hope that his team was watching his performance closely. He
needs a break.
***
Overall, it was a terrific night at the fights, with much revealed about these boxers. From the frustrating to the sublime, there was so much to absorb, so much talent to watch of all varieties, so much intrigue. It was a wonderful night at the fights, and I was as happy as ever to experience it.
I appeared on this week's United Boxing Podcast with David Greisman and Darren Rees. We discussed this weekend's upcoming fights, including Boots, Bam, Keyshawn, and more. I've attached the Spotify link below, but it is available on most streaming services.
I wrote a feature on uber-talent Jaron "Boots" Ennis for Ring Magazine. Ennis takes on David Avanesyan on Saturday, making the first defense of his welterweight title. It will be a homecoming fight for Ennis, his first bout in Philadelphia in over five years. To read the article, click here.
The Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia is home to the
Philadelphia 76ers and Flyers. It's the premier indoor entertainment venue in the city. Walking
through the relatively empty arena on Friday for the Jaron "Boots"
Ennis-Cody Crowley press conference, one thought was rushing through my mind:
How are they going to fill this place?
As storied as Philadelphia is in boxing, with its dozens of
champions, the Rocky mystique, and a gym culture that ranks as
one of the best in the world, what hasn't happened over the last two decades in the city is success on the big-time boxing stage. Sure, there have been a
few attempts. Beterbiev-Gvozdyk was there, Tevin Farmer made a
hometown title defense (at the time he was co-promoted by Matchroom
Boxing/Eddie Hearn), and Danny Garcia also had a homecoming fight. Yet none of
those events was a huge box office success. Furthermore, they took place at the
Liacouras Center, a smaller arena, which had been scaled for 8,000-10,000 and
not the Wells Fargo Center, which can seat 20,000 comfortably.
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| Ennis, Hearn and Crowley at the press conference Photo courtesy of Andrew Maclean/Matchroom |
But Hearn believes that things will be different this time. He also thinks that with Ennis he has a future pound-for-pound level talent. Hearn announced that the ticket presale for the bout, which is an Ennis welterweight title defense and a homecoming fight, sold 4,500 tickets.
Hearn also wants to signal to the boxing world that Ennis should be a superstar. And this is where superstars belong: in big arenas, trying to capture the imagination of a larger sporting audience.
Hearn can be many things, but he is at heart a promoter, a
dreamer. He believes in big events, whether it's at Wembley or Saudi Arabia or
Las Vegas or at Cowboys stadium. He pointed to the success that Devin Haney had
in selling over 15,000 tickets in a homecoming fight in San Francisco against
Regis Prograis, and San Francisco is another city that had not recently had a
lot of success as a destination for big fights. Hearn acknowledged that
he could have taken a safer route by staging Ennis-Crowley at the Liacouras
Center, but he's not interested in safe at the moment; he wants to make a
splash.
***
Ennis-Crowley is an unusual title fight in that a year ago
Ennis was languishing as a mandatory challenger waiting for a big opponent to fight him
(it never came) and Crowley was struggling to gain momentum in his professional
career and in his personal life. Crowley is an atypical success story. Hailing
from Ontario, Canada, Crowley entered the professional ranks with few assets. A
number of his early professional bouts took place in out-of-the-way locales
such as Oklahoma City; Norfolk, Virginia; and the Maryland State Fairgrounds.
He ultimately returned to Peterborough, Canada where he promoted many of his
own shows.
Crowley doesn't have a big punch and lacks other athletic
skills that jump off the screen. In his 22 professional fights, he has only
nine stoppages, and much of this was against pedestrian opposition in his early
fights. But he kept winning. Belatedly, six years into his pro career, he got
an opportunity on a PBC card in 2020 and won. Since then, he has appeared on
PBC-branded shows, but the fight against Ennis will only be his fifth fight in the
last four years.
There are reasons for those activity gaps. His dad committed suicide and Crowley had to overcome significant mental health concerns in the aftermath. He had a double eye surgery (always a bit of a worrying sign). He also had a problem with his former management.
On Friday, Crowley was joined by
Anthony Girges, his new manager, on stage. Girges was brilliant during the
Q&A in the press conference, defending his fighter and riling up Team
Ennis. It looked like he had been in the game for a dozen years. But in speaking
to Girges after the press conference, he admitted that Crowley is his first
fighter and that he's new to boxing management; he's flying by the seat of
his pants.
Crowley sees himself as a winner. He mixed in the "aw
shucks happy to be there" vibes with full confidence that he will be
successful. He wanted to fight Ennis, even though other champs at 147 including
Eimantas Stanionis and Mario Barrios (who has an interim belt) could have been
easier fights to make and perhaps easier fights in the ring. He believes that
Boots is the best at 147 and that's why he wanted to face him in the
ring.
Cerebral during his interviews, Crowley can be philosophical about himself and boxing as a whole. It's not quite clear where he will go, but he gets there. He'll drop in a word like "manifestation" and discuss the illusions of professional boxing, especially as it relates to the sanctioning bodies. He fully realizes that it's a game to get a title shot. Talent is only part of the story. And that's something that Boots, who waited years for high-level opponents, could attest to. So much about boxing is who or what is behind the curtain. Who has the right promoter? The right management? The right connections with the sanctioning bodies? It's an aspect of the sport that few are willing to discuss publicly, but Crowley held no reluctance on such matters on Friday.
***
Boots Ennis was asked if he was nervous about the homecoming fight and he laughed, almost dismissing the question. Boots has been around the sport his whole life. He had two older brothers who were successful professional fighters. But as good as Derek (24-5) and Farah (22-2) were throughout their careers, Boots was the one thought to be special. As an amateur, there was a huge buzz about him in Philadelphia. During his early career, he was selling out Philadelphia club shows with standing-room-only audiences. Philly fight fans might not agree on much, but seemingly all acknowledged Boots' special talent.
“Listen, there’s really no pressure on me," he said on
Friday. "I’ve been in this game since I was a baby. There’s no pressure.
It’s normal for me. My brothers have been at the top and I’ve seen all this
stuff before. This is like being at home in my house right now. It’s natural
for me and it’s normal." And while all of that might sound like the right
thing to say, Boots' nonchalance was clear. He has expected this from himself.
Like Crowley, he has manifested it. When Errol Spence or Terence Crawford wouldn't
give him a shot, he found another way.
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| Photo courtesy of Andrew Maclean/Matchroom |
At 26 years old and featuring a record of 31-0 (28 KOs), Boots is squarely in his athletic prime. He has an unusual combination of athleticism, power and ring smarts. But what Boots had lacked, and much of this was his own doing, was a big push behind him. Boots' father and trainer, Bozy, had rejected the advances of bigger promoters and Boots spent much of his career promoted by Cameron Dunkin, a legendary talent scout and manager, but someone who didn't have the stable or juice to help Boots land bigger fights.
Boots is now with Matchroom, and he has the platform, the money behind him and the potential future opponents to ascend to the higher ranks in the sport. He will now have the opportunity to test himself consistently against top opposition. There will be no more excuses or "woulda, coulda, shoulda." Boots can now make of his career what he will.
But I'd certainly feel better if his dad didn't say "we never watch tape of our opponents," seemingly unbothered by what Crowley could offer in the ring. Of course, Bozy also called Crowley a good fighter, and expected him to bring the best out of Boots. So maybe Bozy has seen Crowley fight before; press conference games are nothing new.
***
The press conference started late, and Hearn met with the media prior to the start of the event. He held court for well over 30 minutes as various media members pushed their microphones, phones and video cameras in front of his face. Observing from the back, it was impressive to watch Hearn navigate from topic to topic: "What do you make of Ryan Garcia's positive test?" "Could you see Boots fighting Crawford next year?" "What's Canelo going to do next?" "Is Conor Benn able to fight right now?" He didn't miss a beat.
I'm not sure there's a better promoter in the sport at that
part of the job: working the media. I've seen Hearn after a fight card answer
questions for hours. He never seems to tire from interacting with the media. He gives
people their chance. He relishes the back-and-forth and he can be a really
persuasive salesman. Sure, he can spin, but it's also his job to spin. It's the
media's job to balance a statement given to them with a potential greater truth, especially
if there may be daylight between the two.
Matchroom and Hearn in particular have been a mixed bag since they entered the American boxing market. On one hand, they've been involved in some huge events with Canelo. They have cultivated talents such as Bam Rodriguez. Some of their U.S.-based prospects such as Raymond Ford and Diego Pacheco have developed into real talents. They've also provided platforms for smaller-weight legends such as Roman Gonzalez and Juan Estrada.
But they also
threw around a lot of money for fighters who didn't move the needle, such as
Danny Jacobs, Maurice Hooker, Tevin Farmer and Demetrius Andrade to name a few.
They entered the market with hundreds of millions to spend and their initial
foray wasn't a total success by any measure. Yes, they have gained an
important foothold in the market. They have become one of the key players, but they have fallen far short of anything resembling dominance, which was one of their stated goals.
Hearn believes that the Ennis signing (in which discussions had been off an on for over five years) is a vital
step for his company in America. Since signing
Boots, Hearn said that several pound-for-pound-level fighters in the U.S. have
contacted him, and he expects to sign a few more over the next year.
And whether that's true or wishful thinking, Hearn is happy
to have another major chip in the U.S. market. Between the lines, he admits to
some past missteps. He acknowledged on Friday that he only wants to make
signings who will or can move the needle for the sport and his company. But will there be more big names after Boots? Will it be a trickle of top
fighters following suit, a geyser, or just empty words from a promoter?
One thing I'm certain of is that we won't know the answer
immediately. But there's always intrigue in the sport. And even in a sparsely
filled press conference on a Friday in Philadelphia, there was a lot of it. The
major players who were there, the fighters, the managers, the promoter, all
recognized that Boots-Crowley could be a significant step to accomplishing their long-held goals, to conquering. A lot will be on the line.
In this week's Punch 2 the Face Radio, Brandon and I recapped a busy boxing weekend, including Jaron Ennis, Smith-Vlasov, Stanionis, Ancajas, Top Rank's heavyweight prospects, and Benn. We also previewed Andrade-Williams, Harrison-Perrella and Prograis-Redkach. Also, we talked about Triller's entrance into boxing and highlighted some big fights coming up for the spring. To listen to the show, click on the links below:
When Joe Smith Jr. defeated Eleider Alvarez last year, the quality of his performance demonstrated a metamorphosis in his career. No longer just a crude banger, Smith outboxed an excellent boxer. He worked off the jab and used angles and purposeful footwork to set up shots. Initially offering little more than heavy hands and desire early in his career, now he had finally become a well-schooled fighter.
On Saturday, Smith had the opportunity to win a vacant light heavyweight belt against Maxim Vlasov, and none of his recent refinements made the trip to Tulsa. From the first moment of the fight, he was winging wild power shots and often missing badly, looking like a guy having a bar fight at two in the morning. His jab was non-existent. He recklessly squared up to throw punches, which created easy target practice for Vlasov. In addition, Smith's feet didn't seem under him. He was having balance issues during large portions of the fight.
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| Smith (left) tries to defend a Vlasov right hand Photo courtesy of Mikey Williams |
Ultimately, Smith's poor form can be attributed to two factors: He thought he would knock out Vlasov with ease, or he didn't train properly (of course these two things could be related). Vlasov recently had COVID and perhaps there was a belief that he would be less than 100% for the fight. In addition, Smith just got married and naturally that change can lead to a break from tried-and-true habits. But perhaps Smith was believing his headlines a little too much after knocking out Alvarez.
Vlasov started the fight completely prepared for his opponent. He was in-and-out, side-to-side, never in one place for too long. But he wasn't running; he was always near Smith, so he could land from unpredictable angles and counter when Smith missed. Vlasov didn't try to load up with shots. He mostly featured "touch" right hands, but he did mix in some more punishing uppercuts and venomous crosses as the fight continued. And he was having so much success early in the fight that he was even backing up Smith, a successful example of bullying the bully.
Until the final third of the fight, Smith often looked befuddled in the ring. But it must be said that there were a number of rounds where Smith was getting comprehensively outboxed and then he would land a straight right to the head or a body shot that would hurt Vlasov so significantly that Maxim would stop throwing punches. Vlasov had a poor poker face during those moments; everyone watching knew how badly affected he was. These rounds made for some interesting scoring decisions in that Vlasov was very much fighting his fight, but Smith would land big punches – a case of ring generalship vs. clean, effective punching.
Smith closed the fight well. Whereas his big shots connected sporadically throughout the first half of the fight, by the end the heavy artillery was landing far more frequently. Vlasov was significantly hurt in the 11th round, but a rabbit punch allowed him to take a lengthy breather. Smith also turned on the jets in the 12th and he demonstrated that his determination, heart and right hand were still present, even if his considerable boxing skills were not.
Ultimately Smith won by a majority decision: 115-112, 115-113 and 114-114. I scored it 115-113 for Vlasov, but I understood that Smith had a case for winning a close decision. It certainly wasn't Smith's cleanest performance. He won't want to watch the replay often. Still, it's always a nice story when a club fighter makes it to the world level and wins a title.
Vlasov probably deserved better than what he received on the judges’ scorecards. He showed what upper body movement, feints, good feet and angles can do to a knockout artist that loads up on big shots. Vlasov was clever, tricky and determined. Ultimately the judges liked Smith's power a little bit better, but Vlasov performed ably.
Smith could next face Artur Beterbiev in a unification fight. Although Beterbiev is among the hardest hitters in boxing, he presents none of the stylistic dilemmas that Vlasov did. Beterbiev-Smith would be a battle of whose chin holds up better. There's a risk that Smith could get knocked out there, but he won't have to deal with clever and cagey. Maybe he'll prefer that.
***
Jaron "Boots" Ennis has not been a secret. He hails from Philadelphia, a city that has a seen a few things over the decades when it comes to its beloved boxing, and which features a fanbase that is not overly impressed with what's hot and new. Yet despite the cynicism of Philly fans, Ennis has been able to shatter that hard-heartedness. During his development fights, he created what seemed like universal support and affection among Philly's boxing enthusiasts. One can often hear Philly boxing fans (or even those in the city who ply their trade in the sport) rip this young fighter or that prospect, but when I've seen Ennis fight in Philly, I've never heard a negative word about him from anyone, which I'm sure qualifies as some sort of record.
And despite not facing tough competition throughout his development fights, Ennis at 23 was already headlining a Showtime championship boxing card on Saturday. It didn't matter that there wasn't a championship on the line for his fight against welterweight contender Sergey Lipinets. It wasn't a case of Showtime boxing head Stephen Espinoza being too hasty. Similar to those Philly fight fans, the boxing execs trusted their eyes and had become believers.
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| Jaron "Boots" Ennis (left) shoots a left hand Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott |
The attributes that have made many boxing fans fall in love with Ennis were all in fine form on Saturday: the massive punch variety, the pinpoint accuracy, the freak athleticism, the seamless switching from southpaw to orthodox. But what really surprised me was Ennis' punching power. Yes, his final right hook/left uppercut combo in the sixth round will be replayed endlessly, but Ennis pasted Lipinets throughout the fight with hard stuff from all angles and multiple stances. It wasn't just that he landed with thudding blows, but that they had a real effect on a tough, durable fighter who had taken his fair share of heavy punches throughout his career.
While all of Ennis' fancy stuff is important and vital in his overall package as a fighter, let's not forget that he has 25 knockouts in 27 fights. He's not one of these cuties with great skills who needs to fight in that style because of a lack of power. He can box brilliantly AND hurt an opponent, stop him, and end it quickly.
Lipinets turned out to be the perfect opponent for Ennis. He was physical, did some grappling on the inside, dug to the body when he could, had nasty intent on his shots and took some big punches. Ultimately, Lipinets was outgunned, but he represented Ennis' first real test as a pro, a test in which he passed with flying colors.
But if we're nitpicking, and let's nitpick for a second, Ennis does need to tighten up things defensively. Perhaps he has developed some bad habits against poor opposition. There were too many times where Lipinets was able to land a free shot on Ennis (usually a chopping right hand) to an area where there wasn't a glove anywhere nearby. Maybe Ennis thought that he was out of range, that his reflexes would allow him to avoid the shot, or that he had the chin to take it. Whatever the reason may be, it's not a good practice to give capable, hard-hitting welterweights free shots.
I'm sure Ennis knows that he kicked some serious butt on Saturday, but what will he do when he sees "95" on his exam paper instead of "100"? Will he be satisfied with the result, or will he do what it takes to ace the next one? That answer will help determine his ultimate ceiling in the sport.
***
Quietly, Lithuanian welterweight Eimantas Stanionis has plied his trade on smaller cards, beating solid pros such as Justin DeLoach and Levan Ghvamichava. In his 13th professional fight on Saturday he faced former junior welterweight title challenger Thomas Dulorme, a 30-bout veteran who had recently given strong work to Jamal James, Jessie Vargas and Yordenis Ugas in the welterweight division.
And this was not a faded version of Dulorme that appeared on Saturday. Working with noted trainer Ismael Salas, Dulorme was well prepared for what Stanionis had to offer. Noticing a high guard, Dulorme went to Stanionis' body with lead power shots. Salas realized that Stanionis almost always worked off the jab, so he had his fighter move toward Stanionis' power hand, often a no-no, but here it was excellent advice. In addition, Dulorme was instructed not to stand in front of Stanionis and limit prolonged exchanges. Ultimately, Dulorme and Salas had the right game plan; it just didn't matter.
Over the course of 12 grueling rounds, Stanionis was better able to assert himself in the ring. When Dulorme darted out of the pocket, Stanionis used excellent footwork to trap Dulorme and start another offensive attack. Although Dulorme constantly moved to Stanionis' right, it was Stanionis' jab that consistently landed throughout the fight. And even though Dulorme would have success with quick lead punches, Stanionis' counters were crisp, hard and effective.
Stanionis would win via unanimous decision and while Dulorme asked many questions, Stanionis had enough answers. Although there are more hyped young welterweights in the sport than Stanionis (Ennis and Vergil Ortiz, for example), his performance on Saturday demonstrated that he too has world-class skills.
Some of the issues that Dulorme and Salas exposed are areas that Stanionis must continue to improve upon. He can be predictable with his offensive approach and he will need to mix in more lead right hands and lead left hooks. And it's true that his defensive guard can be a little too high.
Stanionis landed many of his best shots throughout the fight, but he wasn't able to knock out or even seriously hurt Dulorme, who has been chinny throughout his career. Although Stanionis has an almost 70% knockout ratio, he doesn't seem to be a one-punch KO guy; he grinds down opponents over time with pressure and incisive punching.
A smart fighter with a number of solid tools, Stanionis is going to be a tough night at the office for any opponent. However, it's an open question as to whether he has anything that could be considered sublime. The welterweight division historically has featured many of the top fighters in the sport and the present with Crawford, Spence and Pacquiao is a further continuation of this trend. Being very good often isn't good enough, not at 147. We shall see.
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Jerwin Ancajas is not a beloved fighter. After impressing in his early title defenses, he did two things that led to antipathy in many corners of the boxing world: he turned down big fights and his performance level started to drop. Unfortunately for Ancajas, he finds himself in the junior bantamweight division, where titleholders like Juan Estrada and Kazuto Ioka have recently faced much bigger challenges, and former champions Roman Gonzalez and Srisaket Sor Rungvisai are constantly hunting big game. They all want to prove themselves against the best, and I'm not sure that Ancajas has felt similarly.
Ancajas, from the Philippines, and a protege of Manny Pacquiao, recently aligned with the PBC and kicked off Saturday's Showtime broadcast against unheralded but capable Jonathan Rodriguez of Mexico. And they went to war.
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| Ancajas (left) connecting with a straight left hand Photo courtesy of Amanda Westcott |
Ancajas won via a unanimous decision and the fight was a fantastic watch, with brutal back-and-forth action. Ancajas' offense was eye-catching. He dug to the body mercilessly with right hooks. He displayed a ferocious and varied offensive attack.
But his faults were still there to see. Noticing that Ancajas leaned over his front foot, Rodriguez pasted him with right uppercuts. Seeing that Ancajas' glove positioning was a mess, he landed consistently with straight and looping right hands.
Furthermore, after knocking down Rodriguez during an impressive eighth round assault, Ancajas was unable to get the stoppage despite Rodriguez looking like he was ready to go at multiple points. And despite being physically depleted, Rodriguez was actually the fighter who seemed to close better in the championship rounds.
Saturday's version of Ancajas was a lot of fun, and fun is always welcome in boxing. But this is not a division to fool around in. There are real threats at 115 lbs., Hall of Famers at or still close to their peak, and menacing contenders. If Ancajas can't perfect his defensive shortcomings, or figure out how to stop a wounded fighter, his title reign will wind up being remembered for much more quantity than quality. He's now at nine title defenses and counting, a formidable number for sure, but the names are nowhere near as impressive as that number. And we probably know why that has been the case.
