Ennis’ aggressive style makes him vulnerable, Teofimo is too small for welterweight

Trainer Stephen Edwards says the fighters now want to face Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis because they saw what Karen Chukhadzhian did to him in her two fights and feel they can exploit the holes in his game.

Chukhadzhian boots exposed

Stephen believes Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) is “too bloodthirsty” because he is always looking for knockouts, which makes him vulnerable in his fights. We saw it in Ennis’ two fights against Chukhadzhian, David Avanesyan and Roiman Villa. He was below average in those fights and took a lot of hits.

Edwards feels that if Boots can change his fighting style to implement more boxing, he will be fine. However, he is trained by his father, Derek ‘Bozy’ Ennis, and is known for pushing his fighters to be more aggressive, attacking and seeking to score knockouts.

Bozy Ennis is unlikely to make his son change his fighting style to be less aggressive because that is not the approach he teaches. We saw how Bozy was pushing 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz to be more aggressive in his last fight against Antonio Morán, and he was blown away from the start.

If Cruz had used his normal skillful fighting style, he would have trained Moran without this guy laying a glove on him, but he was being pressured to put pressure on the bigger fighter.

“Teófimo López has a special talent, but I don’t know what he will look like at 147 pounds. He’s a little short (5’8″),” coach Stephen Edwards told YSM Sports Media when asked how Teófimo López would fare if he moved up to welterweight to face the lions in that weight class.

“It’s kind of hot and cool. I thought he struggled against Jamaine Ortiz and the other guy (Sandor Martin?), and then he looked good against Josh Taylor. So, it’s hard to say with a guy like that. I think he will do well with (coach) Eddy Reynoso and he does well with guys with his body type.

“He did well with Óscar Valdez and very well with Canelo Álvarez. So, I hope it goes well with Eddy Reynoso. I think he (Teófimo) could possibly beat (WBC welterweight champion Mario) Barrios. I like neighborhoods. This is nothing personal against him, but he’s had some tough fights. “He probably isn’t as physically talented as the others.”

Teofimo at welterweight

Size is not the problem that Teofimo would have if he moved up and fought welterweights. It’s more of a case of Teofimo lacking ring IQ, can’t handle pressure well, and has a bad habit of wrestling with his back against the ropes. He’s mostly gotten away with his low ring IQ due to his size at 140 and 135. But if he went to 147, he wouldn’t have his size to help him, and he’d be fodder for almost any of the welterweights.

“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 about him fighting Brian Norman, but I’m not sure what would happen, but I was looking forward to that fight. That would have been a good fight.

“I think Boots is too big for Teófimo López. The Jamaine Ortiz fight. If Boots just boxed him and used his jab, 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’s fighting in a bloodthirsty style, trying to knock everyone out, and they see some holes in that,” Stephen said of Ennis.

Boots would have too much skill for Teofimo if they fought, and it wouldn’t be a good matchup for Teo. That’s not to say he wouldn’t have his moments and potentially win. Sometimes he would do well, but it would be a very tough fight for him.

“In boxing they see a defect. All a fighter has to do is fight a fight, and everyone wants to fight him. I feel like those things could be corrected if I just got back to boxing. I think Teofimo is too small for Boots,” Stephen said.