A showdown between Jaron Ennis and Vergil Ortiz Jr may be edging closer following Ennis’ dominant victory over Xander Zayas this past weekend, and Terence Crawford has issued a warning to ‘Boots’.
Ennis stopped Zayas in seven rounds at Brooklyn’s Barclays Center to become the unified WBA and WBO super-welterweight champion, adding another impressive statement to a résumé that already includes unified success at welterweight.
Now, a long-running rivalry with Ortiz has become even more intriguing. Ortiz, also unbeaten, has spent much of the last few years calling for the fight, but negotiations collapsed earlier this year due to a legal dispute with his promoter, Golden Boy.
Should the fight happen, Crawford, formerly a champion in the division, told Ariel Helwani that a loose defence and willingness to exchange could be Ennis’ downfall against a finisher like Ortiz.
“If Boots gets hurt like he did the last time, Ortiz is gonna finish him. He’s got to tighten up his defence. He gotta stop exchanging. I know he’s faster than most, more explosive than most, but, at the same time, he’s shown in the past that he can get careless and that he’s going out there just to fight. When you get higher and higher, that’s not gonna be enough.”
Though Ortiz’s trainer, Robert Garcia, has said that they will take the fight next, Ortiz may be booked for a comeback fight first, given his eight months of inactivity and counting. The dispute between the fighter and Golden Boy Promotions is said to be nearing a resolution.
