Bernie Davis urges ‘The Boots’ to fight Bakhram Murtazaliev

Coach Bernie Davis says he wants to see Jaron “Boots” Ennis go after the “bogeyman” in the 154-pound division, IBF champion Bakhram Murtazaliev, alongside him to prove himself.

Davis said that with the way Ennis’s promoter, Eddie Hearn, is promoting him as a replacement for Terence Crawford, he wants him to take a real risk by fighting Murtazaliev (23-0, 17 KO) next. He does not think that WBA champion Abbas Brau deserves to fight “the shoes”.

Strike while winning is fresh

Hearn only mentioned Murtazaliev’s name briefly last Saturday after Ennis’ first-round knockout win over Uisma Lima in Philadelphia. The fighter he talked about the most was WBC junior middleweight champion Virgil Ortiz Jr., which he sees as the first step toward earning a fight against Crawford. I object. Ennis is ready for Crawford now.

There’s no need to beat Virgil Jr. and Buckram for Boots to call in Crawford and fight him now before he gets too big. It’s actually the age excuse that works for him if he loses by saying he’s 38 years old.

If Ennis waits another year or two, Crawford will reach 40; He won’t get much beat in terms of legacy. The time is now. Crawford has just beaten Canelo Alvarez, and while that victory is still fresh, Boots should fight him before he disappears. You saw how exhausted Crawford looked after the fight. He looked like he was 38 and then some, and he fought like one too. It’s just that Canelo was worse.

Hitting with dignity means something

“If Buckram is the bogeyman, and this guy (Ennis) is a combination of Roy Jones Jr. and Terence Crawford, then there’s no reason he can’t fight this guy,” trainer Bernie Davis said. Mill City Boxing About Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis wanting to challenge IBF 154lbs champion Bakhram Murtazaliev next.

Bakram, 32, has not fought since last year when he stopped Tim Tszyu in the third round on Oct. 19, 2024. Who knows how that year outside the ring affected him? He had also never defeated anyone of note before that fight, and he struggled against Jack Culcay. As seen in Tszyu’s recent 7th round loss to Sebastian Fundora on July 19, he’s not as good as fans thought he was. Fundora isn’t a big player, but he crushed Tszyu.

“I’m looking for him to make a statement against Bakhram. Since this kid isn’t fighting,” Davis said. “If (Ennis) fights the WBA champion (Abbas Barao), we might as well cancel him. I don’t want to hear about ‘Boots’ anymore. If he doesn’t fight Bakhram, Virgil Ortiz or Xander Zayas.

Barao (17-1, 9 KOs) is a better fighter than WBO champion Xander Zayas. The way he performed in his recent 12-round unanimous decision over interim WBA 154-pound champion Yoenis Tellez, he’s stronger than Zayas. If the shoe had been on the other foot, Zander wouldn’t have done that to Cuban Tellez.

Davis: Potts vs. Virgil is 50-50

“I prefer him over Xander. I think he and Virgil Ortiz are in a 50-50 fight because Virgil won’t be intimidated by those combinations,” Davis said.