Coach Bernie Davis says he wants to see Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis go after “the boogeyman” of the 154-lb division, IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev, next to prove himself.
Davis states that, with the way that Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, is hyping him up as the replacement for Terence Crawford, he wants him to take a real risk by fighting Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KOs) next. He doesn’t view WBA champion Abass Baraou as worthy of ‘Boots’ fighting.
Strike While the Win’s Fresh
Hearn only briefly mentioned Murtazaliev’s name last Saturday after Ennis’ first-round knockout win over Uisma Lima in Philadelphia. The fighter he talked about most was WBC junior middleweight champion Vergil Ortiz Jr., whom he views as the first step toward earning a fight against Crawford. I disagree. Ennis is ready for Crawford now.
Beating Vergil Jr. and Bakhram isn’t needed for ‘Boots’ to call out Crawford and fight him now before he gets much older. He’s already the age excuse working for him if he loses by saying he’s 38.
If Ennis waits another year or two, Crawford will be hitting 40; he’s not going to get much from beating him in terms of legacy. The time is now. Crawford just beat Canelo Alvarez, and while that victory is still fresh, ‘Boots’ should be fighting him before it wears off. You saw how worn down Crawford looked after the fight. He looked all of 38 and then some, and he fought like one, too. It’s just that Canelo was worse.
Beating Bakhram Means Something
“If Bakhram is the boogeyman, and this guy [Ennis] is a hybrid of Roy Jones Jr. and Terence Crawford, there’s no reason why he shouldn’t be fighting this guy,” said coach Bernie Davis to MillCity Boxing about wanting Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to challenge IBF 154-lb champion Bakhram Murtazaliev next.
Bakhram, 32, hasn’t fought since last year when he stopped Tim Tszyu in the third round on October 19, 2024. Who knows how that year out of the ring affected him? Also, he’d never beaten anyone notable before that fight, and he struggled against Jack Culcay. As we saw in Tszyu’s recent seventh-round stoppage loss to Sebastian Fundora on July 19, he’s not as good as fans thought he was. Fundora isn’t a big puncher, but he thrashed Tszyu.
“I’m looking for him to make a statement against Bakhram. Since that kid don’t go no fight,” said Davis. “If he [Ennis] fights the WBA champion [Abass Baraou], we might as well cancel it. I don’t want to hear nothing about ‘Boots’ no more. If he doesn’t fight Bakhram, Vergil Ortiz or Xander Zayas.
Baraou (17-1, 9 KOs) as a better fighter than WBO champion Xander Zayas. The way he performed in his recent 12-round unanimous decision over WBA interim 154-lb champion Yoenis Tellez, he’s tougher than Zayas. If the shoe were on the other foot, Xander couldn’t have done that to the Cuban Tellez.
Davis: Boots vs. Vergil Is 50–50
“I favor him over Xander. I think him and Vergil Ortiz is a 50-50 fight because Vergil isn’t going to be awed by those combinations,” said Davis.
Last Updated on 10/13/2025
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