Bob Arum explains why Terence Crawford would still trouble Jaron Ennis despite Boots’ own switch-hitting ability

“Crawford is an awfully good fighter, and it would take a real wizard to beat him,” Arum said to FightHype. “Crawford has something that no other fighter around has. He fights equally well as a southpaw and a right-hander.

“Usually, the fighter he’s fighting trains for him as an orthodox fighter, and so, from the first round, he’ll turn southpaw, and the guy isn’t ready for him. That’s what beat Spence.”

Arum was referring to Crawford’s ninth-round stoppage of Errol Spence Jr in July 2023, a performance many still regard as the finest of his career. Crawford repeatedly switched stances, forcing Spence to adjust throughout the fight before breaking him down.

Boots, though, differs from most of Crawford’s former opponents. The newly crowned unified junior middleweight champion is also comfortable boxing from either stance, regularly switching between orthodox and southpaw without sacrificing his offense. That would likely remove much of the surprise factor Arum described.

Crawford’s success was never built solely on switch-hitting. His ability to read opponents, make adjustments between rounds, and capitalize on mistakes helped him capture world titles in five weight classes before ending his career with victories over Spence and Canelo Alvarez.

The fight never happened before Crawford retired, leaving it as one of boxing’s enduring “what if” matchups. Arum’s view is that Crawford’s versatility would still have presented Ennis with the toughest test of his career, despite the similarities in their styles.