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've seen what Karen Chukhadzhian did to him in their two fights and feel they can exploit the holes in his game.

Chukhaji open boots

Stephen believes that Boots (33-0, 29 KOs) is “too bloodthirsty” because he is always looking for knockouts, which makes him vulnerable in his fights. We saw this 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 believes that if Boots can change his fighting style to incorporate 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, to attack, to aim for knockouts.

It's unlikely that Bozy Ennis would make his son change his fighting style to be less aggressive because that's not the approach he teaches. We saw Bozy push the 2020 Olympic gold medalist. Andy Cruz to be more aggressive in his last fight against Antonio Moran and he was staggered early.

If Cruz had just used his normal slick fighting style, he would have schooled Moran without this guy putting a glove on him, but he was forced to put pressure on the bigger fighter.

“Teofimo Lopez is a special talent, but I don't know what he'll look like at 147 pounds. He's a little short (5'8″),” coach Steven Edwards told the YSM Sports Media when asked how Teofimo Lopez would fare if he had to move up to welterweight to face the lions in that division.

“He's kind of hot and cool. I thought he struggled against Jamaine Ortiz and the other (Sandor Martin?) and then looked good against Josh Taylor. So it's hard to say with a dude like that. I think he'll do well under (coach) Eddie Reynoso does well with guys with his body type.

“He did well with Oscar Valdez and he did great with Canelo Alvarez. So I expect him to do well with Eddie Reynoso. I think he (Teofimo) could beat (WBC welterweight champion Mario) Barrios. I like Barrios. It's nothing personal against him, but he's had some tough battles. He's probably not as physically gifted as the other guys.

Teofimo in the welterweight division

Size is not the issue Teofimo would have if he were to move up and fight at welterweight. It's more a case of Teofimo having no ring IQ, not being able to handle pressure well, and has a bad habit of fighting with his back against the ropes. He's mostly gotten away with his poor ring IQ due to his size at 140 and 135. But if he moves to 147, he won't have his size to help him and will be fodder for almost anyone at welterweight.

“So I think Teofimo can beat Barrios, but I don't know what he would do against the other guys,” Stephen said. “There was talk that he was going to fight Brian Norman, but I'm not sure what will happen, but I was looking forward to this fight. This was going to be a good fight.

“I think Boots is too big for Teofimo Lopez. The Jamaine Ortiz fight. If Boots just boxes him and uses his jab, he'll be too big for him. I think the guys want to fight Boots now because of the two decisions with Karen (Chukhadzhian). He fights with a bloodthirsty style, trying to knock everybody out and they see some holes in that,” Stephen said of Ennis.

Boots would have too many options for Teofimo if they had to fight, and it wouldn't be a good matchup for Teo. That doesn't mean he won't have his moments and potentially win. He would do well at times, but it would be a really tough fight for him.

“In boxing, they see a flaw. All a fighter has to do is fight a fight and everyone wants to fight them. I think these things can be fixed if he just goes back to his boxing. I think Teofimo is too small for Boots,” Stephen said.