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Trainer Stephen Edwards says the fighters now want to face Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis because they saw what Karen Chukhadzhian did to him in their two fights and feel they can exploit the holes in his game.
Boots exposed Chukhadzhian
Stephen thinks Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) is “too bloodthirsty” because he’s always looking for knockouts, which makes him vulnerable in his fights. We saw that in Ennis’ two fights against Chukhadzhian, David Avanesyan and Roiman Villa. He was below average in those fights and got hit a lot.
Edwards believes that if Boots can change his fighting style to implement more boxing, he will be fine. However, he has been trained by his father, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, and is known for pushing his fighters to be more aggressive, on the attack, looking for knockouts.
Bozy Ennis is unlikely to make his son change his fighting style to be less aggressive because that is not the approach he teaches. We saw how Bozy was pushing 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz to be more aggressive in his last fight against Antonio Moran, and he surprised himself early.
If Cruz had just used his normal fighting style, he would have schooled Moran without this guy putting a glove on him, but he was being pushed to pressure the bigger fighter.
“Teofimo Lopez is a special talent, but I don’t know how he’ll look at 147 pounds. He’s a little short (5’8″),” coach Stephen Edwards said YSM Sports Media when asked how Teofimo López would do if he moved up to welterweight to face the lions in that weight class.
“He’s kind of hot and fresh. I thought he fought Jamaine Ortiz and the other guy (Sandor Martin?), and then he looked good against Josh Taylor. So it’s hard to tell with a guy like that. I think he’ll do well with (trainer) Eddy Reynoso, he does well with guys with his body type.
“He did well with Oscar Valdez and Canelo Álvarez. So I hope he does well with Eddy Reynoso. I think he (Teofimo) could beat (WBC welterweight champion Mario) Barrios. I like Barrios. That doesn’t it’s nothing personal against him, but he’s had some tough fights. He’s probably not as physically gifted as the other guys.”
Teofimo at welterweight
Size isn’t the issue Teofimo would have if he stepped up and fought welterweight. It’s more a case of Teofimo with no ring IQ, unable to handle pressure well and with a bad habit of fighting with his back against the ropes. He’s mostly gotten away with his poor ring IQ due to his size at 140 and 135. But if he moved up to 147, he wouldn’t have his size to help him, and would be fodder for almost either welterweight.
“So I think Teofimo could beat Barrios, but I don’t know what he would do against the others,” Stephen said. “There was talk of him fighting Brian Norman, but I’m not sure what would happen, but I was looking forward to that fight. It would have been a good fight.
“I think Boots is too big for Teofimo Lopez. The Jamaine Ortiz fight. If Boots just boxed him in and used his jab, he’d be too big for him. I think guys want to fight Boots now because of the two decisions with Karen (Chukhadzhian). He’s fighting in a kind of bloodthirsty style, trying to knock everybody out, and they see some holes in it,” Stephen said of Ennis.
Boots would have too much skill for Teofimo if they fought, and it wouldn’t be a good matchup for Teo. That’s not to say he wouldn’t have his moments and potentially win. Sometimes it would go well for him, but it would be a very tough fight for him.
“In boxing, they see a flaw. All a fighter has to do is fight a fight, and everybody wants to fight them. I think those things could be corrected if he just goes back to his boxing. I think Teofimo is a a little too small for Boots,” said Stephen.
