Bud Crawford Praises Boots Ennis, But Says He Isn't At His Level Yet

Jaron "Boots" Ennis may have added two more world titles to his growing collection, but retired boxing great Terence Crawford believes there remains a clear gap between the two fighters.

Ennis strengthened his standing as one of boxing's elite by stopping previously unbeaten Xander Zayas in the seventh round on Saturday night to unify the WBA and WBO junior middleweight titles. The victory improved his professional record to 35-0 and fueled renewed discussion about how he would have matched up against Crawford had the two ever shared the ring.

That debate has existed for years.

When Crawford became the undisputed welterweight champion by dismantling Errol Spence Jr. in 2023, Ennis was the mandatory challenger for the IBF title. Rather than defend against the Philadelphia native, Crawford vacated the belt as he pursued bigger opportunities, eventually moving to 154 pounds to defeat Israil Madrimov before capturing the undisputed super middleweight championship with a victory over Saul "Canelo" Alvarez. Shortly afterward, Crawford announced his retirement.

Ennis was elevated to IBF champion following Crawford's departure from the division and has continued climbing the pound-for-pound rankings, with his latest triumph over Zayas adding two more championship belts to his resume.

Appearing on Shawn Porter's podcast, The Porter Way, Crawford shared his thoughts after initially posting a cryptic message on social media following Ennis' victory.

"To credit 'Boots', he's a tremendous talent and he's no walk in the park for no one," Crawford said. "So he's a threat to anyone that he steps foot in the ring with. He's got tremendous speed. He's got great power, defense, reflexes, all that."

Despite the praise, Crawford made it clear that he believes his experience, ring IQ and timing would have separated him from Ennis.

"The only thing that I can say is I'm 10 steps ahead of him," he said. "I'm 10 steps ahead of him in smarts. And I think that's where he would get in trouble with coming straight forward, trying to box me or trying to think shot for shot.

"I can see the holes in his game and I can see the openings and opportunities that I'll have because, A, I feel like I punch harder than Xander. B, I'm way sharper than Xander. C, I'm way faster than Xander.

"So the shots that Xander was hitting him with, and the shots that Xander couldn't capitalize because his speed wasn't there, I will be able to capitalize. And when I capitalize, everybody knows I'm probably one of the best counter punchers there ever was."

Although the hypothetical matchup continues to intrigue boxing fans, Crawford insists there will never be an opportunity to settle the debate inside the ring.

"Never. Never. I'm retired. I'm happily retired," Crawford said. "It's Boots' era. I pray and hope that he takes it to the extreme. I pray for nothing but success for him and his family. I wish him nothing but the best. And all in all, it's all about competitiveness. People want to see this generation, how would they do with the previous generation, the same way with people comparing me to Floyd. We'll never fight. So, I wish him nothing but the best. I want to see him succeed."

Crawford concluded by expressing genuine admiration for Ennis and hopes the newly crowned champion enjoys a Hall of Fame career that could even eclipse his own.

"I hope that Jaron has half of the career that I had, or surpasses me. If he surpasses me, I'm gonna be rooting for him. I'm not the type of fighter that wants to see him fail. I want to see him succeed. I want to congratulate him. I want to see him make it to the Hall of Fame."

While fans will always wonder what might have happened had Crawford and Ennis met in their primes, Crawford appears content leaving the conversation to history, convinced he would have held the edge while hoping Ennis carries the sport forward as boxing's next superstar.