Fight Hype was able to catch up with trainer Stephen “Breadman” Edwards to get his take on Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and the prospects of him potentially taking on the cream of the crop at welterweight with fighters like Errol Spence and Terence Crawford.
So speaking about the matchups, Edwards isn’t shy about expressing his opinion that Boots is the real deal and doesn’t think there’s a fighter between 147 and 154 that’s likely to beat him.
On who he thinks would win if Ennis faced either Crawford or Spence
“I’m gonna tell you this, I wouldn’t pick nobody to beat ‘Boots’ Ennis. Nobody. I know he’s not experienced, ya’ll say he’s not experienced, but I got inside information ‘cause I’ve been watching him since 2014, I’ve been hiring him for camps.
“I’m not saying he’s better than everybody because you still gotta prove it, still gotta do it in the ring. I wouldn’t pick nobody to beat him from 147 to 154, nobody. That kid got a different — do you know why he’s laughing (off camera), ‘cause he get to secretly see him in the gym. See, we get to see things that ya’ll don’t see. People say he ain’t fought nobody, it take a lot to get guys to fight him because other trainers and managers, they may not say it out loud but they know. They know better.
“There’s a couple fights I think is even money (for Boots), or it’s a couple fights that I probably wouldn’t bet my mortgage on — there’s a couple of guys out there. Errol and Terence are special dudes. I don’t think Boots will wipe the floor with ‘em, but just because they’re more experienced than him, I won’t say that they can beat him. That kid is different.
“His talent level is off the charts, and I’ve been around all of them — he’s bigger than those dudes. He bigger, he longer, he a lot younger, he got less wear and tear. Boots is seven years younger than Errol and 10 years younger than Crawford. If you think that shit don’t matter, it does bro.
On if he thinks Ennis will ever fight Crawford or Spence
“No. I don’t think there’s enough incentive for them to fight somebody that much younger than them. A lot of trainers don’t even like mixing eras. I think Boots’ era is gonna come behind them, he’s gonna fight the Ortizs and maybe Fundora…I don’t think they’re scared of him, I don’t. I think Errol and Terence is both guns, I think they’ll fight anybody. But it’s not gonna be worth it to them to fight somebody that young in a fight that they can likely lose.”