Pay Attention: Bozy Ennis says the key to success, for both Andy Cruz and his own son, is simple

BN: How is it you came to be appointed Andy Cruzโ€™s trainer?ย 

I got a phone call months and months back. Jamil Parker, heโ€™s a sports writer, called me and said, โ€œDid anybody call you?โ€ I said, โ€œNah, nahโ€. He said, โ€œThese people want you to train Andy Cruz, alright?โ€ I said, โ€œOkay, when they call me, Iโ€™ll talk to them and see where theyโ€™re coming fromโ€. But I forgot that before that, somebody did call me โ€“ it was Andy Cruzโ€™s manager, and I forgot all about it. I said, โ€œYou know what โ€“ I think they called me and said they wanted to come down here and check me outโ€. So, when he asked me about training Andy, I said, โ€œYโ€™all come down here and let me take a look at himโ€. Even though I saw him when he fought Keyshawn [Davis, at Tokyo 2020]. Then I said, โ€œYeah, Iโ€™ll take a look at himโ€. That was then.

Then later on down the line they called me again โ€“ they said they were gonna come down and visit me, and I waited for a while. Then all of a sudden he came down, I was working with him, and they liked what I was doing with him. They said, โ€œYeah, he canโ€™t punch, and he canโ€™t thatโ€. Man, I got him sitting down. I said, โ€œHe can punchโ€, yโ€™know what I mean? Itโ€™s just with his left hand, he would smack a little bit, so I got him turning his shots a little better. If youโ€™d seen the other day when he was boxing, you wouldโ€™ve seen what I was talking about. Heโ€™s sitting down โ€“ he can be champion, man.

Way I heard it, one of his managers was saying they saw the stuff that I do โ€“ I guess it mustโ€™ve been on Instagram or whatever โ€“ and they liked the way my son, Boots [Jaron Ennis], fights. They said I was the guy for them โ€“ to train Andy. People was asking why he didnโ€™t go to [the Las Vegas-based Ismael] Salas, or why he didnโ€™t go to [the Miami-based Jorge] Rubio. He said, โ€œNah, we didnโ€™t want to go over there; we wanted to come hereโ€, with me. So, I said, โ€œOh, thatโ€™s fineโ€. Man, he fit right in, man. He had fun in here; we had fun in here, man. Heโ€™ll be dancing; singing; playing around and all that. Good guy, man. Good guy.

They just said they didnโ€™t want to be in that type of environment [in Vegas or Miami] โ€“ย I donโ€™t know โ€“ because all them Cuban fighters go to them [Salas and Rubio]. I guess they didnโ€™t want that.


BN: How do you overcome the language barrier?

Well, he understands some of the stuff that I be doing now. I mean, before, he didnโ€™t understand it. His manager [Jofri Sanchez] is gonna come in with him anyway; he speaks for me.

Sometimes [Sanchez] doesnโ€™t have to be there. [Cruz will] go in there, and Iโ€™ll tell him to do something with my hands โ€“ to the body, or to the head, or something like thatย โ€“ and he does it. He knows what Iโ€™m saying to him sometimes too. When I say, โ€œJab, more jabsโ€, he understands that now. When he first started here, he would finish work on the bag, and he would sit down. I said, โ€œYo, we donโ€™t sit down. You gotta complete the whole regiment. After you hit the bag, you jump rope and exercise, or before that you might shadow box; you might get in the ring and boxโ€. I said, โ€œNo sitting down. Bullshit! Bullshit!โ€. Thatโ€™s what I said. So, heโ€™d come in, โ€œBullshit! Bullshit!โ€ So, now I told him, no bullshit, because heโ€™s been doing what heโ€™s supposed to be doing now. We have fun, man. I think he can be something.


BN: How aware are you of the scrutiny heโ€™ll be under this weekend?

Yeah โ€“ and they got him fighting a 10-rounder. First fight coming out โ€“ 10 rounder. With me? I wouldnโ€™t do it, yโ€™know what I mean? I wouldnโ€™t do it. But thatโ€™s what they [Cuban fighters] do when they come here โ€“ theyโ€™ve so many amateur fights [Cruz went 140-9 as an amateur]. And that was their job over in Cuba โ€“ thatโ€™s what they do. All they do is box. So, I guess they know more than me, but with my son, I would never do that. Gradually โ€“ four rounds, maybe three or four, six rounders, and then eight rounders.

It donโ€™t really concern me; itโ€™s just that I wouldnโ€™t do it. Thatโ€™s the way we work here. Itโ€™s an unnecessary risk. Then, [in Juan Carlos Burgos] โ€“ย he just fought Keyshawn [Davis, losing via points over eight rounds in December]. So, I think what theyโ€™re trying to do โ€“ theyโ€™re trying to make a statement. Thatโ€™s what I think theyโ€™re trying to do, but I canโ€™t fault them for that. But thatโ€™s on them. Iโ€™m gonna do my job, and they gotta do their job. Youโ€™re picking this fighter, so thatโ€™s on you.

I would tell them [if I thought they were making a mistake], but itโ€™s gonna be up to them, because theyโ€™re the managers. But I would tell them, โ€œNo, no, I wouldnโ€™t do that right nowโ€. Oh yeah, I would try to stop that.


BN: Can Cruz join the leaders at the top of the lightweight division?

He will join them. Itโ€™s not, โ€œCan he?โ€. He will join them; heโ€™s gonna be right there. He will be champion; all he gotta do is pay attention; follow the script that Iโ€™m laying down for him. Then heโ€™s gonna be there. Like my man was saying โ€“ he watching from the amateurs, the transition is to the pros now. So, now Iโ€™m teaching him the pro style.


BN: Do you agree that your son Jaron โ€œBootsโ€ Ennis and Vergil Ortiz are going to succeed Terence Crawford and Errol Spence at the top of the welterweight division?

I think so โ€“ I think thatโ€™s whatโ€™s going to happen. Down the line, itโ€™s gonna be Boots and Ortiz. Thatโ€™s a good fight, because remember โ€“ theyโ€™re both coming. Itโ€™s who gets to who, when it comes to them two. Thatโ€™s what itโ€™s gonna look like, between Boots and Ortiz. And theyโ€™re gonna build that up โ€“ just like [Oscar] De La Hoya and Floyd Mayweather. So, theyโ€™ll probably clean the division out, and then itโ€™s gonna be them two.


BN: Do you see Boots ever fighting Crawford or Spence?

Oh, I would love that. I donโ€™t know about 147 โ€“ย I know eventually weโ€™re gonna move up to 154 anyways, so we might meet them. We might fight them at 154, if theyโ€™re still there, once we clean this 147 division out.


BN: Shawn Porter recently said Boots will prove the best welterweight since Floyd Mayweather and Manny Pacquiao. Can he?

Oh, without a doubt, man. Boots can fight inside and outside โ€“ you havenโ€™t seen the best of Boots yet. But see, no oneโ€™s made Boots go to another level yet. [Sergey] Lipinets, that was a good fighter, right? Look what Boots did with Lipinets [in 2021]. He knocked them out [in five rounds]. Heโ€™d never been knocked out before. Boots is already on their [Crawfordโ€™s and Spenceโ€™s] level.

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