Canelo’s Use of Ambidextrous Sparring Partners, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis and Yoenli Hernandez, Poses a Serious Threat to Crawford

Trainer Andre Rozier says Canelo Alvarez’s decision to use Cuban middleweight Yoenli Hernandez and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis at his camp for sparring help was an “Astute move” by him to help prepare for his title defense of his undisputed championship against Terence Crawford on September 13th.

Rozier states that Canelo bringing in ‘Boots’ Ennis to his game “doesn’t help” Crawford. Canelo is getting two sparring partners, Hernandez and Ennis, who can switch stances just like Crawford. They’re a lot younger than the soon-to-be 38-year-old Terence. In Hernandez’s case, he’s more powerful than Crawford. He’s a huge puncher who can fight on the inside and the outside.

“I think it would be because he’s ambidextrous, as is Crawford. So, it can do nothing but help him. And he has Yoenli Hernandez, also helping. He’s also ambidextrous,” said trainer Andre Rozier to YSM Sports Media when asked if Canelo Alvarez is being helped by using Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis as one of his sparring partners to help him prepare for Terence Crawford.

With his massive $300 million fortune, Canelo has the wealth to get the best sparring help money can buy. Bringing in the talented middleweight contender Yoenli Hernandez and ‘Boots’ Ennis to his training camp to help prepare him for Crawford was a clever move by Alvarez. It shows that he’s willing to spend to be well-prepared for his defense against the former four-division world champion Crawford.

“I’m under the direction of the bigger man, and Canelo is the bigger guy in this fight. He’s been at this weight for some time,” said Roizer.

WBC junior middleweight champion Sebastian Fundora says it’s a mistake that Crawford hasn’t taken a tune-up at 168 to get accustomed to the weight class before fighting Canelo. Terence had an entire year to take one or two warm-up fights at 168 since his last contest on May 3, 2024, against Israil Madrimov.

“Crawford, 38, is coming off a layoff and has zero fights at 168. Canelo’s been dominating there forever. Why skip a tune-up? He’s scared of losing to a contender and looking bad before Canelo. That inexperience is gonna hurt him big time,” said Fundora to Boxingnews24.

“Two weight classes and everything else, it’s going to be tough,” said Rozier about Crawford. “It doesn’t help. I can tell you that much,” said Rozier when asked if Canelo bringing Jaron Ennis into his camp lowers Crawford’s chances of winning. “It’s a very astute move to bring somebody who switches from lefty to righty.”

Crawford had just one fight at 154 after moving up from 147 last year. For his title challenge against the four-belt 168-lb champion, Crawford is really moving up three divisions. He wasn’t at junior middleweight long enough to get familiar with the weight class. It requires more than just one fight. Depending on who Crawford has used for sparring help for this camp, he’s experienced a big shock to his system, and it will be even more so when he faces Alvarez on September 13th.

Ennis would be a formidable opponent for the 37-year-old Crawford if the two were to fight now. Crawford’s eyes were bruised up and his face swollen from his last fight against Israil Madrimov on August 3, 2024. Crawford wasn’t under a lot of pressure from Madrimov in that fight. It was more of a boxing match. If Ennis fought Crawford, he would be under constant attack and take a lot of heavy shots.

“He’s [Ennis] a big and strong young man, very fast and capable, with punching power. It’s going to be a help for him,” said Rozier.

The different looks that ‘Boots’ will show Canelo will help him for Crawford. However, it could also negatively impact Alvarez’s performance. If he gets beaten up by Ennis in camp, it could take away from his game going into what is expected to be a tough, grueling fight against Bud Crawford. The photo of Canelo with his face marked up, standing next to a gloved-up Ennis inside the ring this week, hints that their sparring sessions have been tough.

“Of course, it has to. You’re talking about a Hall of Famer, undisputed and a Mexican icon,” said Rozier on whether sparring with Canelo will take ‘Boots’ Ennis’ game to the next level.

Many fans view the sparring help that Alvarez is receiving from the young phenom ‘Boots’ Ennis as being only beneficial to him for his clash against Crawford. It also helps Ennis, allowing him to learn from his time working with Canelo and gain valuable experience. Depending on how long Ennis works with the Mexican superstar, it increases his chances of defeating the top fighters at 154, starting with Vergil Ortiz Jr. in early 2026.