Trainer Stephen Edwards says the fighters now want to face Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis because they’ve seen what Karen Chukajian did to him in their two fights and feel they can exploit the holes in his game.
Chukadzhiyan open boots
Stephen thinks Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) is “too bloodthirsty” because he’s always looking for knockouts, which makes him vulnerable in his fights. We saw that in Ennis’ two fights against Chouhadjian, David Avanesian and Royman Villa. He was below average in those fights and took a lot of hits.
Edwards thinks it will be good if Boots can change his fighting style to incorporate more boxing. However, he is trained by his dad, Derek ‘Bozzie’ Ennis, and is known for pushing his fighters to be more aggressive, go on the attack and look for knockouts.
It’s unlikely that Bozzie Ennis will force his son to change his fighting style to be less aggressive because that’s not the approach he’s learning. We saw Bozzi push 2020 Olympic gold medalist Andy Cruz to be more aggressive in his last fight against Antonio Moran, and he was stunned early.
If Cruz had just used his normal fighting style, he would have schooled Moran and this guy didn’t put the glove on him, but was pushed to put pressure on the bigger fighter.
“Teofimo Lopez is a special talent, but I don’t know how he will look at 147 pounds. He’s kind of short (5’8″),” coach Stephen Edwards said ISM Sports Media when asked how Teofimo Lopez would fare if he moved up to welterweight to fight the lions at that weight class.
“He’s kind of handsome and cool.” I thought he struggled against Jamaine Ortiz and another guy (Sandor Martin?) and then he looked good against Josh Taylor. So it’s hard to tell with a guy like that. I think he’ll do well under (coach) Eddie Reynoso, he’s kind of good with guys with his body type.
“He was good with Oscar Valdez and great with Canelo Alvarez.” So I expect him to be good with Eddie Reynos. I think he (Teofimo) could beat (WBC light heavyweight champion Mario) Barrios. I like Barrios. This is nothing personal against him, but he has had some tough fights. He’s probably not as physically talented as the other guys.”
Teofimo in the welterweight category
Size is not an issue that Teofimo would have had he moved up and fought a welterweight. It’s more a case of Teofimo having no in-ring IQ, can’t handle pressure well, and has a bad habit of fighting with his back against the ropes. He mostly got away with his poor IQ due to his size at 140 and 135. But if he moved up to 147, he wouldn’t have his size to help him, and he would be fodder for almost any welterweight.
“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 of him fighting Brian Norman, but I’m not sure what would happen, but I was looking forward to that fight. That would be a good fight.
“I think the boots are too big for Teofimo Lopez.” Jamaine Ortiz fight. If Boots just boxed him and used his jab, he would be too much for him. I think the guys want to fight Boots now because of the two decisions with Karen (Chuhadjian). “He fights in a kind of bloodthirsty style, he tries to knock everybody out, and they see some holes in that,” Stephen said of Ennis.
Boots would have too much ability for Theophilus if they were to fight, and it wouldn’t be a good matchup for Theo. That doesn’t mean he wouldn’t have his moments and potential victory. Sometimes he would do well, but it would be a really tough fight for him.
“They see a flaw in boxing. All a fighter has to do is fight a fight, and everyone wants to fight them. I feel like if he just goes back to his boxing these things could be corrected. “I think Teofimo is a bit too small for Boots,” Stephen said.
