Terence Crawford believes Jaron Ennis could encounter his toughest test against a non-champion, rather than in a unification match against Sebastian Fundora or Josh Kelly.
‘Boots’ became a two-division unified champion in June, dethroning Xander Zayas with a seventh-round stoppage for the WBO and WBA super-welterweight titles.
As a result, many now view Ennis as the top dog at 154lbs, or at least superior to remaining world champions Fundora and Kelly.
It could be argued, however, that Fundora and Kelly claimed their respective WBC and IBF belts against more proven champions than Zayas, who seemingly has a bright future but lacks world-level seasoning.
Tim Tszyu and Bakhram Murtazaliev, on the other hand, had already proven themselves against several worthy contenders by the time they respectively fought ‘The Towering Inferno’ and ‘The Pretty Boy’.
But while Fundora, in particular, is seen as a genuine threat to Ennis’ supremacy, Crawford has suggested that Vergil Ortiz Jr represents the American’s most formidable rival.
Speaking with ALL THE SMOKE FIGHT, ‘Bud’ explained how Ortiz’s attributes are typically more effective than those of Fundora.
“They both are [tough opponents]. But, for me, I’ll say Vergil [is tougher]. Fundora leaves the door open to getting caught.
“Fundora is definitely getting better but Vergil – he’s going to be in your face; he’s going to have his hands up; he’s going to be jabbing you with a stiff jab, going to your body.”
“With Fundora, he wants to get on the inside. He’s tall but he don’t want to fight you on the outside.”
While Fundora, despite standing at 6ft 6in, does have a tendency to trade in the pocket, he did show signs of genuine improvement while boxing at range against Keith Thurman in March.
