Jaron Ennis attempts to become a unified world champion in a second weight class on Saturday night, his rise continuing to draw comparisons to Terence Crawford.
‘Boots’ was elevated to IBF welterweight world champion back in 2023 when Crawford moved up in weight, a belt which he defended twice before unifying the titles against WBA champion Eimantas Stanionis in a dominant six-round beatdown.
Ennis then moved up to 154lbs to score a statement first-round knockout on his divisional debut, halting Portugal’s Uisma Lima to announce himself as a serious threat to the throne, leading to rumours of a long-awaited showdown with Vergil Ortiz Jr.
Ortiz and Golden Boy’s subsequent legal troubles caused a delay to that fight and Ennis has instead moved on to challenge boxing’s youngest unified world champion, Xander Zayas, who holds both the WBA and WBO world titles at super-welterweight.
Being on the verge of a legendary accomplishment, Ennis continues to be compared to history-maker Crawford, but the Philadelphian told Daily Mail Boxing that the noise does not bother him.
“I don’t be worrying about that. I know that I fight like me, don’t nobody fight like me and I don’t fight like nobody. My style is different from everybody else, I feel like I have got a unique style and can’t nobody do what I do.
“They [fans] have been doing that for a long time. They compare every fighter to somebody, but I just keep doing what I am doing and like I said, none of these fighters fight like me. They can’t do what I do – I am different.”
Ennis’ undefeated professional record has now stretched to 35 bouts, but that streak faces its biggest test on Saturday, as Puerto Rico’s Zayas seeks to prove that he is the man to beat in the super-welterweight division.
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