By: Hans Themistode

At the tender age of 24, Jaron Ennis should be in the infancy stages of his career.

Yet, despite the normal career arc of a younger fighter, Ennis wants no parts of a slow and methodical build toward the top of the sport. Currently, thanks to a slew of knockout victories against high-profile fighters, Ennis has moved quickly up the welterweight ladder.

In the opinion of the budding 147-pound star, a showdown against the division’s best is inevitable. If the decision were solely up to the Philadelphia native, he would love to test his skills against pound-for-pound star and current WBO welterweight titlist, Terence Crawford.

Although their showdown is unlikely for the immediate future, Ennis is much closer to getting his shot at Crawford than many realize.

In 2021, Ennis strung together back-to-back stellar performances. First up on his fight calendar, was a showdown against former 140-pound champion turned 147-pound contender, Sergey Lipinets. While the one-time belt holder was considered his stiffest test, Ennis made quick work of him, dropping him in the fourth, before finishing him off in the sixth round.

Next up for Ennis was a welterweight showdown against rugged contender Thomas Dulorme. Ultimately, while Dulorme has presented issues for numerous names at 147 pounds, Ennis had little to no trouble dealing with him, stopping him in the very first round.

Following those two decisive victories, Ennis now finds himself ranked number two in the WBO sanctioning body. But as the 24-year-old inches closer and closer toward a showdown against the pound-for-pound stalwart, former two-division champion Tim Bradley believes that Ennis should be careful what he wishes for.

“Somebody going to sleep and it ain’t gonna be Crawford,” said Bradley during an interview with BoxingInsider.com.

Ultimately, Ennis appears to be taking his career in another direction. In an effort to scoop more than just one world title, Ennis has set his sights on Errol Spence Jr. With the unified titlist focusing his efforts on his upcoming showdown against WBA champion Yordenis Ugas, Ennis is attempting to position himself in line to take on the winner.

On May 14th in Los Angeles, California, Ennis will face off against fellow undefeated contender Custio Clayton in an IBF title eliminator. Regardless of the route Ennis eventually chooses, Bradley believes it’s foolish for him to take on Crawford.

Most recently, the 34-year-old switch-hitter successfully defended his world title for the fifth consecutive time. At the tail end of 2021, Crawford took on good friend and former two-time champion Shawn Porter.

Throughout the early portions of their showdown, Crawford struggled with the awkward rhythm of his opponent. Still, despite Porter’s early success, Crawford would eventually dissect his man en route to a 10th round stoppage win.

As Bradley continues to shake his head at the mere thought of Crawford and Ennis sharing the ring with one another, the Hall of Fame hopeful has one final succinct statement for Ennis, and anyone else for that matter, who doubts Crawford’s skills.

“Y’all better put some respect on Terence Crawford’s name.”

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