Via Chris Williams: Mikey Garcia says Terence Crawford will have a tough time with undefeated heavyweight contender Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis, who is hunting him. Mikey feels that the match between Crawford (38-0.29 KOs) and ‘Boots’ Ennis (28-0.26 KOs) will be an excellent matchup for both of them.
With that said, Mikey thinks 34-year-old Crawford should focus on battling aging former world champions Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman and Danny Garcia.
Ennis has been looking impressive lately, stopping 147 lb janitor Thomas Dulorme in the first round last October in Las Vegas and former 140 lb IBF champion Sergey Lipinets in the sixth round in April.
The way Boots Ennis destroys Lipinets and Dulorme, he may be too much for the old lion Crawford. As we saw Crawford struggle against lackluster janitor Shawn Porter last November, he just doesn’t seem to have enough strength to hold off young Jaron Ennis.
Former four-division world champion Mikey believes Thurman and Danny will be better options for Crawford to prove himself to earn a bout against IBF/WBC heavyweight champion Errol ‘The Truth’ Spence Jr.
If Crawford fights Ennis, 24, he could either lose or receive a punishment so severe that he’ll become a shell of himself by the time he battles Spence.
Jaron Ennis tough fight for Crawford
“I think it was a very good fight for both,” Mike Garcia told EsNews when asked about his thoughts on Crawford and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis. “Ennis wants to prove he’s the next big thing in welterweight, so it’s a good fight for him.
“Crawford has enough skill and talent to keep winning, but it has not been an easy fight for him. Fighting a young, hungry challenger like Ennis was not an easy walk. ”
It can be doubted that Crawford will be persuaded to fight Boots Ennis. At the moment, Crawford is focused on battling former 147-lb WBA/WBC champion Keith ‘One Time’ Thurman, who returns this Saturday night against Mario Barrios in Las Vegas.
If Thurman wins that match, he is expected to call up Crawford, Spence and Ugas for the title. However, the only one of the three that Thurman could put up a fight against was Crawford because he needed a big-name boxer.
“I’ll jump in there if he needs an opponent,” Mikey said when asked if he wanted to fight Crawford. “I am always disappointed by it. But I think he’s going to want to fight someone else because he wants to prove himself to try and get that fight with Spence,” Mikey said.
There’s no way at this point Mikey will stand a chance of fighting Crawford, but you never know. If Crawford can’t get his next Thurman matchup, he may be ready to hand 34-year-old Mikey an unwarranted title.
Mikey doesn’t appreciate a championship shot against Crawford with two defeats in his last three games. It would be bad if Crawford took on Mikey because he was going to lose to Sandor Martin last October, and he looked equally terrible in the previous two fights with Jessie Vargas and Spence.
“He’s going to try to fight other guys like Keith Thurmans of the team, former champion of the team, Danny Garcia, that sort of thing. I think he beat them all,” Mikey said as he predicted Crawford beat Thurman and Danny Garcia.
Vergil Ortiz Jr another tough fight for Crawford
“It’s like an Ennis Boots,“Mikey said as he faced Vergil Ortiz Jr.“ It was not an easy battle for Crawford. I think he’d better fight Danny [Garcia] and Keith Thurman, fighting styles.
“I’m going to go down to 140 for the next game,” Mikey said of his plans for his next match. “Now there is no more welding weight.
“It’s not going to be an easy fight if Spence has to have surgery and everything but I think Spence is a more talented fighter,” Mikey said when asked who would win between the IBF/weight class champions. WBC Errol Spence Jr. and WBA champion Yordenis Ugas.
“It was not an easy fight,” Mikey continued about the Spence vs. Ugas, slated to take place in the first half of 2022. “Ugas is strong, his style is clumsy and he is stilted. He has a chance to win. He is a very good fighter. It was a good fight,” said Mikey Garcia.
