“I’m 10 steps ahead of him,” Crawford said to Sean Zittel about Jaron Ennis. “I’m 10 steps ahead of him in smarts.”
Crawford praised Ennis as “a tremendous talent” and “a threat to anyone,” but quickly shifted to what he viewed as the differences between them.
“I can see the holes in his game, and I can see the openings and opportunities that I’ll have because A, I feel like I punch harder than Xander. B, I’m way sharper than Xander. C, I’m way faster than Xander.”
He said that the opportunities Zayas failed to capitalize on against Ennis would have been enough for him to take control of the fight.
“When I capitalize, everybody knows I’m probably one of the best counter punchers there ever was,” said Crawford.
Despite the detailed breakdown, Crawford repeatedly insisted his career is over.
“I’m retired. I’m happily retired,” he said. “It’s Boots’ era. I wish him nothing but the best.”
Crawford also acknowledged one topic that continues to bother him.
“When you say, ‘Oh, he would knock Terence Crawford out,’ or ‘Terence Crawford ducked him,’ or ‘Terence Crawford retired because of him,’ it pisses me off sometimes. But at the same time, it’s just the game.”
Those comments are unlikely to end the debate. Crawford retired as the undisputed super middleweight champion after defeating Canelo Alvarez, but some fans remain unconvinced that walking away was the right decision while a lucrative showdown with Ennis remained available.
Many fans also look at Crawford’s final two performances as evidence that time had begun to catch up with him. Israil Madrimov repeatedly found a home for his right hand despite having relatively little professional experience, while Canelo Alvarez remained competitive despite fighting in bursts for much of their bout. Those performances have led some observers to question whether the 38-year-old Crawford would have been able to keep a younger, faster, and more relentless Ennis off him for 12 rounds.
Crawford clearly disagrees. Even while insisting he has nothing left to prove, he left little doubt that he still believes his boxing IQ would have been enough to defeat the fighter many now regard as the sport’s next dominant champion.
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