As sharp-witted as his son is skilled, Derek “Bozy” Ennis was quick to retort to the question of what separates Jaron “Boots” Ennis, from boxing’s other top fighters.
“He’s so special because he’s my son,” said the elder Ennis.
Once the chuckling subsided, Bozy Ennis, who’ll corner his unbeaten former unified welterweight champion son in his Saturday night quest to become a unified super welterweight titlist versus champion Xander Zayas on DAZN pay-per-view from New York’s Barclays Center, delivered a seriously clear response.
“He does so many things other fighters don’t; (he) has so many levels he can go to,” Ennis told BoxingScene Tuesday. “He can box inside and outside. He moves and he can fight. He likes to fight the most. I tell him all the time, ‘go back to boxing.’”
As “Boots” Ennis’ 35-0, with 31 knockouts, record attests, he does prefer to finish foes, and if there’s one behavioral pattern that Bozy Ennis would like to alter about his son, it’s that need to end it.
“A lot of times, once he hurts you, he goes for the kill,” Bozy Ennis said. “I tell him all the time: A hurt fighter is a dangerous fighter.”
In his 2024 rematch with Karen Chukhadzhian, Ennis pursued that ending after knocking down his title challenger and was rocked like never before, perhaps slightly puncturing a mystique that had drawn comparisons to Roy Jones Jnr.
“People say he gets hit a lot,” Bozy Ennis said. “‘Boots’ take is that if you want to be great, you’ve got to take chances. He takes chances because he likes to fight.”
Veteran matchmaker and advisor Robert Diaz has closely followed the careers of both Philadelphia’s Ennis, 28, and Zayas, 23, a Puerto Rican who’s 23-0 with 12 KOs.
“There’s no such thing as the perfect fighter, but, at this point, we haven’t seen any weakness from ‘Boots.’ The guy is the real deal. ‘Boots’ is that good, similar to, and maybe better than [retired-unbeaten, five-division champion Terence] Crawford,” Diaz said.
Diaz, who’s connected to four-division champion Canelo Alvarez, spoke of how impressively Ennis performed in sparring sessions aimed at helping Alvarez prepare for last year’s defeat to Crawford.
Ennis’ disinterest in allowing the fight to reach the judges could ultimately cost him, said Diaz. The question is whether Zayas can make Ennis pay.
“Zayas is very determined, and a fighter daring to be great is always dangerous,” Diaz said. “I guarantee we have a classic on our hands, a can’t miss fight.
“One of the things that made Thomas Hearns so exciting was his kill-or-be-killed attitude. That’s something ‘Boots’ gravitates to. He goes for the knockout, but that is a vulnerability. Xander is a big, strong kid. The key here is you have two young fighters who want to be great and don’t know how to lose yet.”
Bozy Ennis says he’s long admired Zayas and is hopeful “Xander can take [“Boots”] to a next level. Xander is a kid I like and this is a great night for us.”
The ability of Zayas to rehydrate perhaps as much as 30 pounds after making weight indicates to some observers that the fight will likely go the distance, with oddsmakers establishing the 12-round bout as a short +118 underdog.
“This is boxing. Anything can happen,” Bozy Ennis said. “One mistake, and it can be over with.”
One official connected to the bout said Ennis is playing with fire by yearning so feverishly by the knockout, but as a -480 betting favorite, Saturday won’t likely be the night he pays.
“There’s things you can take advantage of, but I don’t think Xander’s the one who can expose it,” the individual said.
Bozy Ennis elaborated on that sentiment.
“‘Boots’ is gonna win the fight and look good doing it,” he said. “If Xander gets reckless, he’s gonna get stopped.”
Among the interested observers looking on will be unbeaten 154-pound WBC interim champion Vergil Ortiz Jnr, who was in talks to fight Ennis next before a contractual squabble with promoter Oscar De La Hoya scrapped those plans. Ortiz has also bickered with Zayas on social media.
Additionally, WBC champion Sebastisan Fundora looms.
“The great thing about this fight is that there’s a big fight for the winner with Vergil,” Diaz said. “This is their generation now. It’s reminiscent of that time with Oscar, [Fernando] Vargas, [Felix] Trinidad and [Ike] Quartey… so many great fights to be made.”
