By: Sean Crose
Although he’s always been highly regarded, Jaron “Boots” Ennis often had people questioning about whether or not he was as good as advertised. He proved just how good he was on Saturday night by absolutely demolishing WBA and WBO junior middleweight champion Xander Zayas. In what may well have been a career defining performance, Ennis dropped the defending titleist several times before the ring doctor wisely halted the festivities. Although there was certainly no shame in Zayas’ defeat, the night belonged to Ennis who rose to the occasion and made himself the man in the junior middleweight division.
“it feels tremendous,” he said afterward. “It’s a blessing.” As for breaking Zayas down rather than going for a quick knockout, Ennis said he played it smart. “I didn’t want to rush it,” he said. It was an intelligent plan, one that essentially allowed Ennis to dominate the entire fight. There was however one tough round for the Philly native. For in round three Ennis seemed to stumble under Zaya’s heavy shots. Indeed, it looked for a few moments like Ennis might actually go down, though he survived the round and ended up taking over the fight afterwards.
Although it was a very entertaining match, it takes two to make a fight entertaining. Zayas certainly did his part to help entertain the fans. Here was a man who fought like there was no tomorrow, who got up from being knocked down numerous times and was able to land hard himself. Future opponents would be well advised to understand that this is not a man who’s going to easily crumble before them. Ennis really had to work for this victory on Saturday. It certainly wasn’t handed to him on a silver platter. Those who thought Zayas may have had a chance against Ennis we’re right. He did have a shot, but Ennis proved simply to be too much for him.
And that really is the thing about the sport of boxing. Some fighters are simply at a level that others can’t reach. It’s a tough sport and the fact that sometimes all the determination and hard work in the world doesn’t get you a win is hard for fighters to deal with. Again though, Zayas deserves a lot of credit here. He certainly gave Ennis a run at least for a short time. There’s no doubt that the now former titlist will be welcome on his return to the ring.
As for Ennis, the term pound for pound was being used a lot on Saturday night in Brooklyn. There’s a reason for that. Ennis may now have proven that he is one of the best fighters in the world pound-for-pound. That may be unofficial for obvious reasons, but it still means something nonetheless. To be called one of the top 5 or 10 fighters in the world is a great selling point. It’s also quite the honor for the fighter. There are literally thousands of boxers out there after all, but only a few get spoken of as highly as Ennis will.
While he certainly didn’t fight a perfect fight… there was that third round after all…Ennis showed that he’s the real thing. Those who felt he had a weak record can’t accuse him of facing easy touches anymore. Whatever could be said about Zayas no one can call the man ill-equipped for a high-level fight. And Ennis didn’t just beat him, he beat the poor guy down. Fortunately the ring doctor knew what to do and when to do it. Zayas is free to fight another day…. and Ennis is ready to truly enter the spotlight.
