Well, it's my great pleasure to be joined on our podcast to day by
none other than the IBF Welterweight Champion of the World, Darn Boots. Ennis
Boots, thank you so much for doing this. I appreciate your time.
Now, how's everything going getting ready for your fight? I appreciate Thank you,
bav you know everything going great. You can't can't win it, I'll
you know, don't want in town. Well, let folks know you are
scheduled to make your first title defense Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center in
your hometown of Philadelphia. You're taking on the challenger, David Evanescin, who's
thirty four and one with eighteen knockouts. You, of course, John are
thirty one and oh with twenty eight knockouts. What's intriguing him about this fight?
A few different things We're going to get to. First of all,
you know, because you got thirty one fights, feels, I think to
a lot of people you've been around kind of forever. But you're still only
twenty seven years old and making your first defense. But the big thing about
is you get to go home to Philadelphia to the Wells Fargo Center, your
first fight with your new contract with Mattroom Boxing. There's gonna be a big
crowd on hand. Mattroom Boxing has been saying there's gonna be well over ten
thousand people in the tenants. We'll see. There's still some time before the
fight. But how big of a deal is it for you not only making
the first title defense, but to do it, you know, in your
in your hometown, the great fight city of Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. Oh,
that's a very big deal, you know, just the first fight at Wells
Fargo Center, you know well, and you know, it's a buzzing to
be able to you know, fight in the Wells Fargo Centnate, I had
just running the bill in like March, okay, and I had told my
edit, use the game, and I told my my security, I said
it. I said, one day I'm sell this play out. And then
a one or two later, you know, I did the partnership with Metroom
and you know now here now you know, basically sell this place out,
you know, in fight here in my hometown to some my world side in
my hometown. Yeah, and you said it's the first fight at the Wells
Fargo Center. Just so people are clear, they renamed that building. They
have had fights in the venue, but since it's been that call call that
this will be the first card and uh, and you're the headliner and you're,
like I said, you're taking on Evanessian. But I want to ask
you about this fact. Originally you were scheduled to take on your mandatory challenge
at Cody Crowley. You guys have announced the fight, you had done the
press conference. He was undefeated at twenty two and zero. Unfortunately, Cody
had an eye problem where he had surgery and he was not medically clear to
do the match and they had to switch and find a new opponent for you
in Evanessian. Do you have any any sort of letdown in the change or
for you with sort of Cody Crowley, fine, Avanessian finance all the same
to you, what's your your take on having the opponent change up on you
like that. It's just always saying to me, I'm just glad to be
baking, glad to be able to you know, fight. I told him
before, I told Eddie before before the fight even I say to make sure
I have a backup just in case, and you know, you know,
he did what he heels. I want you know, I don't care who
who who he would have filed. I just wanted as long as i'na be
able to fight, you know, in front of my friend and his family,
you know, on July thirteenth and edelis Argos from the Beautiful Show and
get a knockout. I ain't really care who it was. So you mentioned
about, you know, excited to fight at home, fight the opponent you're
fighting, defend your title. Before you got the IBF title, you had
won the interim title. The champion was Terrence Crawford. He had become the
undisputed champion last July with his big performance and knockout against Errol Spence. After
that was over, he declined to fight you because even you were the manager.
I don't think he was necessarily ducking Boots Ennis, but he had sort
of other things to do that was put on him very quickly after the fight.
In any event, that title became vacant and you were then elevated to
the full champion from your interim status. What was your take on that?
Were you disappointed that he didn't fight you, that you didn't get the opportunity
to sort of win the belt outright in the ring, against the reigning champion.
I always wonder how fighters process that when that happens. I mean,
you always want you always want to take the boat, you know, from
the champion, and that was the goal took about from the champion in a
phil better that way, better you know about beating him up and things like
that. But you know, you know it is what it is. Nothing
I could do it. It was out of my control. Were you of
the opinion that he was somehow avoiding you or you understood sort of like the
business choices that get made in this business, in this sport. Honestly,
I don't even know. I don't know, okay, fair enough, Well,
one thing you may be familiar with if you're studying up on David Avanessian,
is that you know that it was in December twenty twenty two, two
fights ago for David, that Terrence Crawford knocked him out in the sixth round
to retain his title. At that time. David has won one fight since
then. And even though you're not fighting Crawford, he got evanesc In.
But I know you would have liked to fight Crawford, is it at least
sort of maybe mildly in the back of your mind that maybe I can show
up Terrence crawfor a little bit by knocking David Evanestin out even more quickly than
Terrence Crawford did. No, I really don't care about it. I'm,
like I said, if I'm excited to be begging the ring, and that's
my main thing, being back in the ring, putting on the show for
for in the family and uh, you know, and being thrown in a
big statement with a big knockout. I'm going ahead, fun and put on
a show. Now. I really really don't care about But he's the the
guy that be knowing now when you when you prepare for Evans and sort of
what is your scouting report on him? What have you seen if you've looked
at video, or what's your take on his style? I know you obviously
believe very strongly you're gonna win and win the fight by a knockout, but
can you just give me your team's thought process and the type of fight that
he brings into the ring. I mean, he kind of fight like my
last opponent will. You're just not as big pressure as it. You know,
right in front of you. Don't move here. Uh, it's gonna
be a long night for him. Gonna be a long night or gonna be
a short night. If you do, it's gonna be It's gonna be along
with short night if you do what I'm saying. I get what you saying.
You think you think you're gonna end this fight early. I think is
that. I mean, that's how I hear the confidence in your voice.
I know Evans from having to watch him plenty of times. We saw what
he did with Crawford. You feel like, I mean not to say your
take him lightly or anything like that, but you think this is I get
the feeling you think this is easy work. I'm definitely not taking it likely
lightly at all. You know, I'm going to them on show, have
fun, wech smart, taking my time, beating up, you know,
breaking down in uh, filling a beautiful show. Like I said before,
You know, I don't take nobody lightly at all. You know, I
mean, focuses him right now, that's it. That's all. Get him
up out of or away and at dom Victoria's. You know, makes carry
they you know it's bigger and meditation. But I main focus is David Evan
Eedian So I had mentioned when we were just starting out the interview that this
is gonna be your first fight since you signed with Eddie Hern and matrom Boxing.
Prior to that, you had been fighting regularly on the PBC cards because
you were associated with with Showtime and they were doing all those events when Showtime
came to an end. Uh. My understanding is that you know you had
been and involved the conversation possibly signing with PBC. Obviously that did not work
out. Can you say what happened in that situation and what was sort of
the the sales pitch if you will, that Eddie gave you that that made
you decide, you know what, I'm gonna go sign with Matt from boxing.
I just want I just want what was best for my career, you
know. I like to stay actives, you know, and that's to be
my whole thing. Stay actor, stay busy, you know, Steve Shirt,
you know, do you feel like that would not have been the case
that you've been with PBC, Oh, that you wouldn't have been busy?
I know. I say that. I just like the way that Eddie move
move his guys and things like that. You know, you know, fight
frequently, so see keep keep the shirt right and it seems like it's been
a pretty good promotion, Like because they said they've talked about that there's going
to be a huge crowd, and since you've never really fought in a big
arena in Philadelphia, I think you got to be pretty excited about the fact
that they are going to have, you know, that big, big,
big throng of folks. And so what other thing I was thinking about is
when you go and you walk out for your ring walk Wells Fargo Center,
your first title defense, big crowd for you cheering you on? Is that
the kind of and you're as a champion, as a reigning champion, is
that sort of like the moment as a young fighter coming up that you dreamed
about, Like can you envision how that's gonna feel, just emotionally when you
have that happen, you know, on fight night. Uh, there's going
there's still amazing, you know. Like I said before, I just rung
the bill, you know, and in March at the Sixers game, and
like I said, I told you, I told my security all we will
say the place out and now I'm doing it. So it's gonna be a
blessing. It's gonna be everything, you know, everything I've you know,
I'm jined of you know, and I can't wait. You know, I'm
ready. I'm ready to recite it. So at twenty seven years old,
it seems like in boxing for the most part, fighters are you know,
in their prime, approaching their prime, or right in the middle of their
prime. Do you feel like at your age now with the title, uh
getting involved in bigger events that you that you are now in your prime of
your career. I definitely feel like I'm getting here. I feel like I'm
getting there here yet, I definitely feel like I'm getting here. So beyond
evanescent because I know we've discussed that. You think it's gonna be a long,
short night as we discuss stuff. What are the kind of goals that
you have beyond you know, just obviously retaining your title? Is it?
Is it making the pound for poundless? Is it maybe moving up and weigh
at some point and winning titles in other weight classes? Sort of what's what's
sort of on the laundry list, the checklist for Jian Boots, and that's
about the things that you would like to accomplish in your career before it's all
over. Oh well, they don Victoria's you know, make sure they not
looking at it a demon and he's in it, or you know, stand
focus left in. But my main goal is to be undisputed at one forty
seven at this fight, you know, I want to collect the rest of
the bolts and then move up to fifty four into the same thing at fifty
four and the sixty against sixty eight, maybe sixty eight. Oh you think
you can go as high as one sixty eight? Wow? Yeah, I
mean I know I can. I would have to see how my body feeled
or you know, being a being a heavy. Okay, So I just
want to wrap up with this and uh, you know your goal you've established,
as you just said, you'd like to somehow figure out a way to
navigate the politics and become the disputed champion. But I wonder along the way
to doing that, what do you think is sort of the big fight for
you at welterweight. Terrence Crawford is not coming back to that weight class.
Obviously, you have the WBC champion Barrios, Mario Barrios, he's supposedly in
conversations perhaps to be fighting against Manny Pacao. Stanionis is there. He's undefeated,
obviously a good fighter, maybe not the biggest name in the world.
Brian Norman is probably about to be elevated from the WBO once the Crawford belts
are all vacated. So when you look at those group of champions, besides
yourself, what do you view or maybe there's something else as your big fight
quote unquote big fight in welterweight angle all of them, you know, because
the all big fights that you all have a boat, so one of them.
So you think that you can maybe run the table and then hey,
that's that's yeah, that's that's you know, I said, Don Victorious,
you know next Saturday. That's the quote you a ton of ton of unified
if you understand its collect you well, I guess before you can start collecting
all the other belts that you don't have, you got to take care of
your business against David Avanes and you say it's going to be a big win
for you and a beautiful performance, as you said in front of the hometown
boots. I wish you nothing but the best in your performance in your fight
Saturday at Wells Fargo Center live on his own. I thank you very much
for your time. I wish you the best of luck, thank you,
I appreciation you, Bet Boots, thank you so much. A