The similarities between Ennis and Crawford that show ‘Boots’ can emulate pound-for-pound king

Jaron “Boots” Ennis announced himself in the super-welterweight division with an emphatic first-round victory over ranked contender Uisma Lima in front of his home support in Philadelphia on Saturday.

It’s obvious that Ennis is now ready for the biggest fights available to him in his pursuit of becoming a multi-division champion and the pound-for-pound best fighter on the planet.

Many have drawn comparisons between Ennis and the current pound-for-pound king, Terence Crawford, for their style and career path.

Crawford did not bloom into the superstar he is today until his mid-late thirties, but Ennis, at 28 years old, has the opportunity to chase this greatness earlier than the Omaha native.

But how deep do the comparisons run between the two, and what does Ennis have to achieve to ratify the comparisons and realise his potential?

Switch-hitters

The most easily noticeable similarity between Ennis and Crawford is their switch-hitting ability. It’s something that makes a boxer stand out from the crowd – the ability to be equally as effective in the orthodox and southpaw stances is a rarity in the sport.

Both fighters use it to great effect in being able to create space for themselves defensively by simply transitioning into a different stance, making their opponent have to think twice before launching another attack.

They also use it as an offensive tool to create new angles of attack or catch their opponent by surprise, and have to be hesitant in defence, which opens up numerous more opportunities.

This makes the puzzle twice as hard to solve, as an opponent has twice as much information to download in terms of pattern and rhythm recognition because no boxer fights the same in orthodox as they do in southpaw.

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The eye test

It has been obvious for a long time that Ennis is one of the most well-rounded and naturally gifted fighters in the world.

He has one shot, lights-out power and a drunken master-esque defensive style that is as eye-catching as it is effective in 35 fights unbeaten with 31 knockouts.

But the only drawback to that is that he has not been asked to prove it against any pound-for-pound level stars yet, which many believe he is more than capable of doing.

Ennis’ best wins so far came against David Avenesyan and Karen Chukhadzian, who are solid operators, but not at the level of the fighters Ennis will have to topple to become the world's best.

Crawford also proved his quality long before he got the chance to convince the public, by handily beating the best that the lightweight, super-lightweight and welterweight divisions had to offer, which at the time was not the most credible opposition.

Wins over Viktor Postol, Julius Indongo, Jose Benavidez Jr and Avanesyan were hallmarks of Crawford’s quality. But Crawford did not get to prove his true star power until he was 35, when he took on and easily disposed of Errol Spence Jr, followed two years later by his historic victory over Canelo Alvarez, when he was approaching his 38th birthday.

Ennis’ last fight against Lima, whilst an impressive performance, has not done a lot to further his argument for being a pound-for-pound star, and he must carry this momentum into an elite-level fight to win over his doubters.

Left waiting for super fights

Before Ennis made his move to super-welterweight, he was hoping to become the undisputed welterweight champion, filling the power vacuum left by Crawford, but the champions at the time clutched onto their belts and took on mandatory challengers or lower level voluntary defences to stay on their respective thrones. This left Ennis at a crossroads – wait for the opportunity or hunt down bigger challenges?

Even after his move up in weight, it was initially rumoured that Ennis would dive straight into the deep end and take on an avoided 154-pounder in the WBC interim champion Vergil Ortiz, which has become one of the most sought-after fights in boxing today.

But Ortiz is now scheduled to take on tough challenger Erickson Lubin next month, and Ennis is left with another head scratcher in terms of figuring out who to take on next – does he wait for Ortiz, or does he attempt to challenge one of the fully-fledged super-welterweight champions and begin his road to undisputed?

Just as Ennis began his career at welterweight and is now in search of the biggest fights, forcing him up to super-welterweight, the same can be said for Crawford, who actually started his career at lightweight.

Crawford waited 23 fights to claim his first world title at lightweight, beating Ricky Burns to become the WBO champion in 2014. But the division was not moving quickly enough for Crawford, who saw the opportunity to dominate at super-lightweight, where he would go on to become the undisputed champion in seven fights.

“Bud” then had the welterweight division in his sights, but would have to wait much longer to achieve undisputed when he took down Errol Spence. He had to wait five years from his welterweight debut to become undisputed, compared to two years at super-lightweight, and Ennis may have to show similar patience.

What does Ennis need to do to emulate Crawford?

If Ennis hopes to emulate Crawford or even go a step further, then he has to carry his momentum and trust his ability as a fighter by throwing himself into the biggest fights possible.

A fight with Vergil Ortiz seems the most readily available option for Ennis in terms of big fights. If he can beat Ortiz, who many think is the best at 154lb right now despite not holding a world title, then this will be the best springboard for him to go on and become an undisputed champion - a feat he missed out on in the welterweight division.

He should look to replicate the speed with which Crawford achieved this at super-lightweight rather than welterweight, especially if he hopes to move up again and conquer the middleweight division.

If Ennis can become the undisputed super-welterweight champion and then do the same at middleweight in the next five years, he might even have time to try and unify another division – but he needs to get going.

When put into black and white, the achievements of Crawford across his career sound almost insurmountable. Ennis is still young, but after demolishing Lima this weekend, it is time for him to push on in pursuit of greatness.

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