After the fight: Jaron Ennis is the best welterweight in boxing

Jaron Ennis made his round 1 KO of Thomas Dulorme look easy. He’s young and gaining experience, but Jaron Ennis looks like the best welterweight in boxing.

At 24 years old, Jaron Ennis is still making a name for himself as a welterweight boxer, but his recent performances have me convinced that he is the best welterweight boxer in the world.

Some may think that proclamation is premature, but Ennis has more than passed the eye test over the last two years. The Philadelphia native has been more impressive in the ring in that time than any other welterweight, including Terence Crawford and Errol Spence Jr.

Sorry Crawford and Spence fans, but Ennis seems to have something right now that even those two brilliant gladiators don’t. Actually, he might possess several advantages over both men.

Crawford, Spence, and Yordenis Ugas are the division champions, and those titles have been earned the hard way. Most believe Crawford and Spence have to battle to determine the best boxer in the division, but Ennis may already have them beat.

From 2019 to now, Spence has the best résumé out of all the fighters mentioned thus far. He has wins over Mikey Garcia, Shawn Porter, and Danny Garcia. All are former champions, which makes those wins shine brighter.

However, Garcia was a blown-up welterweight who recently lost to Sandor Martin, and Danny Garcia lacks quality wins as a welterweight. Garcia may be an over-hyped welterweight. Beating guys like Ivan Redkach and Adrian Granados aren’t enough to put your name at the top of the list.

Spence’s win over Porter can’t be criticized. Spence is a great champion, but one who is also damaged goods. He proved that he has recovered from his 2019 car accident, but a detached retina is his latest ailment.

I would take a youthful Ennis over a 31-year-old Spence who has taken more damage in the ring.

If you put Jaron Ennis in against Terence Crawford, Errol Spence Jr., or Yoredenis Ugas, I would put my money on Ennis to get the win

Crawford’s record lacks the sparkle of Spence’s, but he has also been frozen out of big fights by the PBC. That’s not his fault, but he has a chance to change my mind about him on Nov. 20 against Shawn Porter.

If Crawford looks electric against Porter and gets him out of there in six rounds, then I would question my emphatic appraisal of Ennis’s talents over Crawford’s. I don’t think that will happen.

Crawford is incredibly athletic and can fight from both stances like Ennis. From 2018 to now, Crawford has dominated names like Jeff Horn, Amir Khan, and Kell Brook.

Those were once good names, but not when Crawford fought them. Horn was never as good as advertised, Khan couldn’t take a punch, and Brook had more metal in his face than the terminator. They’re guys that Crawford needed to look good against.

You could say same the same thing about Ennis’s opponents. His résumé is his one weakness, but that’s not on him. Ennis wants the smoke, but the top guys are pretending like he doesn’t exist. I don’t blame them for that, but they will have to fight him or move out of the division. If they move up to super welterweight, that would be most telling.

Thomas Dulorme, Sergey Lipinets, and Juan Carlos Abreu aren’t names that whet the appetite, but when you look beyond the numbers and see that Lipinets and Abreu had never been knocked out, before fighting Ennis, those wins have meaning. Dulorme was stopped by Crawford in round 6 back in 2015, but Ennis took him out in less than two minutes.

On Oct. 30 against Dulorme, Ennis put Duloreme down with his right hand in a conventional stance and his left hand as a southpaw. His hand speed looked faster than Crawford’s or Spence’s, and his accuracy was on point.

I’ve seen enough of Ennis over the years, and he’s scary good for 24. If he keeps on getting better, then he might become the best pound-for-pound boxer in the world. Right now, I already think he’s good enough to beat any of the welterweight champions. If they don’t like that assessment, then all they have to do is fight Ennis and prove me wrong.