I don’t know what I’m alleged to really feel after Jaron “Boots” Ennis did what he was overwhelmingly favored to do Saturday evening. Hurray? I suppose.
I imply, Boots-David Avanesyan was by no means meant to be a “struggle.” It was a “really feel good” showcase for the 27-year-old Ennis. It was a approach to kick off his alliance with Eddie Hearn/Matchroom Boxing/DAZN with a spotlight reel blast in entrance of an energized hometown crowd at Wells Fargo Heart in Philadelphia and set up the narrative that this man is boxing’s subsequent large factor. Or, on the very least, it was supposed to make Ennis really feel like he’s being placed on the highway to turning into boxing’s subsequent large factor.
Ennis might very nicely be the subsequent large factor on the American scene (he definitely has the flexibility to be a next-level star), however this RTD 5 drubbing of Avanesyan Saturday evening did nothing to show or disprove that.
The promotion managed to fill two-thirds of a 21,000 seat enviornment, which is definitely fairly good nowadays. It additionally introduced big-time boxing again to Philadelphia, one thing which labored like Viagra to stimulate the loins of an outdated, lazy boxing media and spur them on to intensive protection of the occasion.
However, for the common boxing fan, this struggle meant nothing. Hell, it even meant subsequent to nothing to many of the hardcore “Boots” Ennis followers who’re satisfied that the person is Tommy Hearns, Sugar Ray Leonard, and Floyd Mayweather all rolled into one. It was only a -1400 favourite beating the stuffing out of a man no person, anyplace thought would win.
The media rolled out the same old adjectives relating to guys like Avanesyan. He was “powerful…sport…he confirmed nice braveness…he was a warrior.” A lot was manufactured from the handful of punches he landed on Ennis, sprinkled all through the five-round struggle. However Ennis was hit as a result of he had no purpose to worry what was coming again at him as he showcased his offensive prowess. This was not “Boots” being susceptible, it was “Boots” being a man who knew he might make each mistake on the planet and nonetheless stroll away the simple winner.
Avanesyan was considerably of a late alternative for authentic B-side Cody Crowley. However, once more, this Ennis struggle, on this date, was all the time meant to be a showcase. Crowley could also be 4 years youthful than Avanesyan and significantly more energizing, however he was meant to be a fall man simply the identical.
Sorry, not sorry, for raining on some parades this Monday.
So, now that we received the signing bonus struggle out of the way in which, the place does “Boots” go from right here?
“Nowhere” appears to be the obvious reply.
As I wrote final week, at my different gig as Managing Editor of Boxingnews.co:
“Combating in entrance of 10 or 15K screaming hometown followers will make for an energizing Matchroom debut on DAZN. However then what? Subsequent-level opposition with identify worth is a “should” if a fighter desires to be an actual star. There’s none of that to be discovered at welterweight proper now, the place the largest lively names are presently Mario Barrios and Eimantis Stanionis. Teofimo Lopez and Devin Haney are supposedly headed as much as 147, however they gained’t be trying Boots’ manner for a similar purpose Crawford didn’t and Spence wouldn’t.
Even a transfer as much as junior middleweight gained’t assure large fights, with Crawford up there and guys like Vergil Ortiz Jr., Tim Tszyu, and Sebastian Fundora additionally there, shifting in all completely different instructions with separate promotional ties.
If Boots’ marketing strategy is to take hefty DAZN paychecks for combating “subsequent greatest availables,” like he did at Showtime (and is doing towards Avanesyan this Saturday, let’s be actual), then, he’ll be happy along with his profession path over the subsequent few years.
He clearly aspires to extra, although.”
The struggle he in all probability wants probably the most at 147-154 is versus Terence Crawford (who additionally beat the stuffing out of Avanesyan again in 2022), however Crawford has ranged from detached to belligerently dismissive relating to dealing with Ennis. And, to be honest, Ennis has not appeared all that obsessed with dealing with Crawford, even when “calling him out.”
So, how do you change into a next-level star when there are not any stars to beat in his weight vary? As I put it in my Boxingnews.con piece– this is likely to be a case of Ennis tying to “change into a star in a starless sky.”
That’s going to be the actual problem for Eddie Hearn and Matchroom. Filling hometown arenas and discovering eye-pleasing fall man opposition is straightforward. Constructing a star with out piggyback rides to stardom goes to be powerful.
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