Charlo vs. Boots Ennis would be ‘high level chess’

Trainer Greg Hackett says Jermell Charlo will be “one of the best fights” for Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis to take on next. He says it, “high level chess.”

$10 million or nothing from Jermell

Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, has already ruled out Jermell (35-2-1, 19 KOs) and predicted that he would price himself out. Charlo (35) has already said his asking price for a fight against ‘Boots’ Ennis (35-0, 31 KOs) or Terence Crawford would be $10 million.

Not even ‘Boots’ Ennis makes that kind of money. The grizzled Jermell’s asking price is a nonstarter right out of the gate. He can also forget about Crawford because he’s not going to be interested. This is a fight that would bomb on PPV, lose massive money, put Hearn in a hole for wasting his time.

Jermell was never a PPV attraction even when he was still an active fighter. Now, after two years, enjoying the money he made in his lopsided loss to Canelo Alvarez, he will be even less of an attraction for PPV.

A fight between ‘Boots’ and inactive former undisputed junior middleweight champion Jermell Charlo will have to sell big on DAZN PPV to cover the big purses. It will depend on older fans, not the younger ones, for this event to be successful.

Why Ennis-Charlo won’t sell on DAZN

Younger fans have no idea who Jermell is, as he hasn’t fought in ages and has never beaten a significant fighter during his career other than Erickson Lubin earlier in his career.

“That’s why people love the Charlos, because they’re willing to challenge themselves. That’s what boxing is all about,” trainer Greg Hackett said. MillCity Boxingwhen asked about his thoughts on Jermell Charlo calling out Terence Crawford and Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis.

When have Jermall and Jermell challenged themselves in the last two years? Jermell hasn’t fought since getting a big payday in a one-sided loss to Canelo Alvarez on September 30, 2023. Jermall’s last four fights have come against these fighters: Thomas LaManna, Jose Benavidez Jr.. Juan Macías Montiel and Sergiy Derevyanchenko. How is Jermall changing himself?

Charlo needs to earn his shot at boots

“You’ve got to go in there and see who’s the best, and that’s what he’s trying to accomplish,” Hackett said of Jermell.

Before Charlo gets a fight against ‘Boots,’ he’ll have to prove himself against some of the contenders at 154, like two or three of these fighters:

• Israel Madrimov
• Brandon Adams
• Erickson Lubin: *rematch
• Jesus Ramos
• Yoenis Tellez

It is highly doubtful that Charlo would beat any of those fighters, even the recently beaten Cuban Tellez. A rematch with Lubin would be interesting, as Jermell knocked out the then 22-year-old Lubin on October 14, 2017. Now that Erickson is 30 and much more experienced, it will be interesting to see how Charlo handles him after a two-year layoff.

“Jermell Charlo is going to be one of the best fights for ‘Boots. It’s going to be high-level chess. Charlo is going to have to tame ‘Boots,'” Hackett said.

The Final Word

It would be a terrible fight for Ennis to fight Jermell Charlo because it would reinforce the view that he is not willing to take risks with his career. Charlo would be a step down for Ennis from his last opponent, Uisma Lima. The boxing public would mock him for fighting the inactive 35-year-old Jermell, who would only be back for the payday.

Ennis vs. Jermell would be a total mismatch and dead on arrival (DOA) in terms of pay-per-view buys on DAZN. The problem is that the 35-year-old Charlo has been too inactive for the younger boxing fans to know who he is. They are the ones running the sport now, not the elders, who know better than to throw away their money on a fight involving Jermell and Ennis.

They saw that he only came for the paycheck in his fight against Canelo Alvarez, and that he hasn’t won a fight in three years since 2022. Jermell has never been that good of a fighter, even when he was at the top of his game. He took advantage of a poor spell at 154, when the division was barren of talent. Jermell’s loss to Tony Harrison and his 12-round draw against Brian Castano showed just how scrappy his ability is.

Hearn told Pro Boxing Fans that Jermell would immediately price himself for a fight against Ennis. He clearly heard the $10 million price tag that Jermell Charlo made in a recent interview about what he would want to fight Ennis or Terence Crawford.

The money is for the ball part of a fight against Ennis. That would require Turki Alalshikh’s involvement, and he probably wouldn’t engage in that type of fight.

Turki would know after watching Jermell’s last fight two years ago, in his one-sided 12-round unanimous decision loss to Canelo Alvarez on September 30, 2023, that he was just coming for the payday. Charlo will spare no effort in trying to win.