PHILADELPHIA – Jaron “Boots” Ennis fought against David Avanesyan like he was determined to put on a show for his hometown fans. And while putting on that show, he managed in one sense to show up Terence “Bud” Crawford.
Ennis was far from flawless in his first fight in a year and five days, his first bout under new promoter Matchroom Boxing and his first fight in Philadelphia since 2018. The welterweight beltholder’s defense was not on point – perhaps by design – and he took quite a few clean shots from the veteran Avanesyan. But Ennis forced a corner stoppage after the fifth round, one round earlier than Crawford stopped Avanesyan, the U.K.-based Russian, in 2022.
“I felt like my timing was a little off,” Ennis, 27, said afterward. “It’s OK, I felt good. I was in shape. I could have gone 15 rounds, easy.”
“If he thinks that performance was off, the world of boxing ought to be very, very afraid,” responded Ennis’ new promoter Eddie Hearn. “He’s the future of boxing. That’s what he is.”
Ennis is very much the present of boxing in Philly, attracting a healthy announced crowd of 14,199 in the first-ever fight at the Wells Fargo Center, home of the NBA’s 76ers and NHL’s Flyers.
As Ennis made his ring walk to the familiar entrance chimes of pro wrestler The Undertaker, bellows of “Booooots” (which sounded like boos but very much were not) echoed through the arena. Actual boos would come soon, when Avanesyan took his sweet time getting up after absorbing a low blow in the opening round. It was indeed bang on the cup, though Ennis insisted to referee Eric Dali he had been pulled down as he threw.
With Ennis switching back and forth between southpaw and orthodox – and the 35-year-old Avanesyan occasionally dabbling in the southpaw stance himself – Ennis found himself in a rare close round in the second, eating a couple of clean counter right hands from the challenger. By the third, Ennis was committing to standing inside and fighting aggressively, sacrificing defense – in part, perhaps, to entertain the paying fans.
Boot’s body work began to tell in the third and fourth rounds, and by the end of the fourth, Avanesyan’s cheek was swelling on the left side, a possible indicator of a busted jaw.
Ennis stepped up his attack even more in Round 5 – to the point of momentary wildness, swinging and missing so fully that his gloves touched the canvas. Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KOs) seemed to mock Ennis and delight in the moment – but it was the last pleasant one he would have in the fight. Boots soon caught him with an overhand left and sent him to the canvas, and after the visitor rose, Ennis kept pouring it on until the bell.
Between the jaw, the knockdown and the obvious futility of the situation, Avanesyan’s corner and the ring doctor combined to agree they had seen enough.
“I want the big names,” Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) said after it was over. “Terence Crawford, anybody else, let’s get it.”
In the co-featured bout, 21-year-old Washington, D.C., welterweight prospect Jalil Major Hackett passed what was by far the toughest test of his young career, outpointing “Pistol” Pete Dobson unanimously but closely over 10 rounds. It was the first time Hackett (9-0, 7 KOs) had been taken past four rounds, and the 34-year-old Dobson refused to make it easy for him. In the end, Hackett prevailed by fairly accurate scores of 97-93 twice and 96-94.
Hackett’s best round was the fourth, in which he sat down on left hook after left hook and Dobson was unable to dodge any of them. A nasty knot on Dobson’s temple began to develop in the fifth – almost threatening at first to reach Hasim Rahman-versus-Evander Holyfield proportions – and it was beginning to feel like Hackett would do what Conor Benn couldn’t in February and stop Dobson (16-2, 10 KOs). But Dobson steadied himself, settled in and won a couple of rounds down the stretch as he gave the up-and-comer a productive challenge.