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Trainer Stephen Edwards says the fighters now want to face Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis because they’ve seen what Karen Chukhadzhian did to him in their two fights and feel they can exploit the holes in his game.
Chukhadzhian exposed boots
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 this in Ennis’ two fights against Chukhadzhian, David Avanesyan and Roiman Villa. He was below average in those fights and was getting hit a lot.
Edwards thinks it will be fine if Boots can change his fighting style and apply more boxing. However, he is trained by his dad, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, and is known for pushing his fighters to be more aggressive, to go on the attack, looking to score knockouts.
It’s unlikely that Bozy Ennis will force his son to change his fighting style to be less aggressive because that’s not the approach he teaches. We saw Bozy push 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz to be more aggressive in his last fight against Antonio Moran, and he stumbled early.
If Cruz had just used his normal smooth fighting style, he would have schooled Moran without this guy putting the gloves on him, but he was forced to pressure the bigger fighter.
“Teofimo Lopez is a special talent, but I don’t know how he will look at 147 pounds. He’s kind of short (5’8″),” coach Stephen Edwards said YSM Sports media when asked how Teofimo Lopez would fare if he moved up to welterweight to face the lions in that weight class.
“It’s kind of hot and cold. I thought he struggled against Jamaine Ortiz and another 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 be good under (coach) Eddy Reynoso, he kind of does well with guys his body type.
“He was good with Oscar Valdez and great with Canelo Alvarez. So, I expect him to be good with Eddy Reynos. I think he (Teofimo) could beat (WBC light heavyweight champion Mario) Barrios. I like Barrios. This is nothing personal against him, but he has had some tough fights. He’s probably not as physically talented as the other guys.”
Teofimo in the light heavyweight category
Size is not the problem that Teofimo would have had he progressed and fought a welterweight. It’s more a case that Teofim lacks ring IQ, can’t handle pressure well and has a bad habit of fighting with his back against the ropes. He mostly got away with his poor ring IQ due to his size at 140 and 135. But if he moved to 147, he wouldn’t have his size to help him, and he’d be fodder for almost any welterweight.
“So I think Teofimo could beat Barrios, but I don’t know what he would do against the other guys,” 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. That would be a good fight.
“I think the boots are too big for Teofimo Lopez. The fight of Jamaine Ortiz. If Boots just boxed him and used his punch, he would be too big for him. I think the guys want to fight Boots now because of the two decisions with Karen (Chukhadzhian). He fights with a kind of bloodthirsty style, he tries to knock everybody out, and they see some holes in that,” Stephen said of Ennis.
Boots would have too many abilities for Teofim if they were to fight, and they wouldn’t be a good match for Theo. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have his moments and potentially win. He would do well from time to time, but it would be a very tough fight for him.
“They see a flaw in boxing. All a fighter has to do is fight a fight, and everyone wants to fight them. I think those things could be corrected if he just goes back to his boxing. I think Teofimo is a bit too small for Boots,” said Stephen.
