TANK-ROACH 2, BUILDING BOOTS ENNIS || FIGHTHYPE.COM

This Thursday, like every Thursday, I ask you to pull up a seat alongside my bulging, bulbous sack and watch me shoot a load of gooey, salty truth right into the faces of boxing’s purveyors of ignorance. This week, we have questions/comments regarding Tank Davis-Lamont Roach 2 and Building Jaron Ennis. 

Tank-Roach 2

Hi Paul.

Just wanted to pick your brain about the Tank Davis Lamont Roach rematch. I was really surprised that Roach did as well as he did in the first fight. I was one of those who thought it would be a mismatch and that Tank was picking an easy fight for himself. It turned out that I was wrong about everything and Roach could’ve been given that fight. I still had Tank winning, even if that knockdown had been called, but it was a lot harder than I thought it would be. What do you see happening in the rematch? Could this have been a case of Tank taking Roach too lightly? What can Roach do to put himself over the top this time?

– Luis

Hey Luis.

I had Roach winning, if that knockdown had been called (and it should’ve been called). A-side money-makers get a certain amount of boxing “Get out of jail free” cards and this was one of them for Gervonta Davis. In a just boxing world, though, Tank should be training for the rematch and for a chance to regain his belt (he has a belt, right?). But here we are and people are trying to say that Roach should feel fortunate for getting another Tank Davis money fight. Nope. Roach should’ve won. Period. 

Anyway, I don’t know how much more Roach can do or how differently he could approach things. I think he gave his all in the first fight and had the best possible night he could’ve had against Tank. That makes being screwed in the first fight all the more tragic. That was a right time, right place performance for Roach and it didn’t stick. I don’t think he gets the opportunity to put it all together again. 

In my opinion, Tank WAS flat that night and wasn’t working at 100%. I don’t think he was taking Roach lightly, it’s just that he seemed to be in a weird head space all throughout that fight and its leadup. Roach is a very good fighter and presents a tough stylistic matchup, but Tank’s flatness allowed for opportunities that normally wouldn’t have been there. If anything can motivate him back to peak Tank, it’s a fight like this where he heard a lot of shit being talked about him and took a lot of criticism that usually doesn’t reach his front door. 

I’m predicting a Tank win, probably by points and somewhere in the 8-4 neighborhood, with Roach taking some heavy artillery along the way. 

Building Boots

Paul.

Jaron “Boots” Ennis is the most electrifying fighter in the sport today and a total package with power, speed, and flair, but he isn’t nowhere near the star he should be. What can he do to take the next step up in popularity? 

– PA Boots Fan

Hey Boots Fan.

We may have to face the reality that there is no longer a path to true stardom for American fighters these days. From here on out, if American boxing continues on the path its on and keeps selling itself out to forces actively trying to shift focus away from the American scene, there will be no such thing as a true boxing star. The most we will be able to hope for is niche popularity among a limited audience, which is pretty much what we have today. Right now, unless you bring your star power from outside of boxing, there’s a serious cap on how big you can get. That’s going to be even more of a reality in the coming months/years.

Having said that, though, there ARE some things Boots Ennis can do to boost his profile. Unifying the welterweight division would be nice and it would make him more appealing among the hardcore fans, although it probably wouldn’t do all that much to boost his star power. Moving up to 154 would also be nice, especially if he were to meet and beat Vergil Ortiz Jr. in a slugfest war. Unfortunately, with Turki Alalshikh’s boot on Ortiz’s back and his hand in promoter Eddie Hearn’s pocket, such a bout would probably have to take place in Saudi Arabia. And having Boots fight on the other side of the planet, at an odd hour, and entirely cut off from actual boxing fans is most definitely NOT the answer to boosting his profile. 

If I were his manager and got my hands on a time machine, I would go back a year and a half, avoid signing with Eddie Hearn and align with PBC, which had featured him on some of their shows as a non-PBC fighter and actually helped build him to the point where he could get a lucrative promotional deal in the first place. The path to next-level stardom would’ve then been a lot more navigatable (and fruitful)– Errol Spence, Eimantas Stanionis (when it mattered more), Mario Barrios, Keith Thurman, Tim Tszyu, Sebastian Fundora. He even could’ve forced a Terence Crawford fight if he had beaten Spence. Hearn had nothing to offer and has mostly delivered on that nothing. 

I don’t know. Maybe Boots has gotten as big as he’s going to get. That’s really sad since I agree with you about his electrifying ability. 

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