‘Boots beat the dog s**t out of him’: Claressa Shields reacts to Ennis vs Zayas

On June 27, at the Barclays Center, Brooklyn, Xander Zayas vs Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis headlined a Matchroom Boxing card in association with Top Rank for Zayas’ WBO/WBA super welterweight title. It was ultimately a dominant performance from Ennis, stopping Zayas in the seventh round on DAZN PPV. “Boots” has received plenty of praise since, and Claressa Shields is the latest fighter to deliver the highest praise to Ennis.

Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis defeats Xander Zayas

Ennis (36-0, 32 KOs) produced a career-best performance against Zayas (23-1, 13 KOs), quickly finding his groove. Scoring a knockdown in the first round signalled what a dream start it was for Ennis. 

Zayas had his moment in the third round, hurting Ennis with two big right hands. It was impressive how quickly “Boots” found his feet again. The fifth round saw “Boots” go up another level, scoring another knockdown and teeing off on Zayas for the full three minutes. Zayas deserves credit for surviving the round, but it felt like just a matter of time.

Ennis again increased the tempo in round seven, flooring Zayas again, and that was enough for his corner, who pulled their man out of the fight, crowning Jaron Ennis the new unified WBO/WBA super welterweight champion.

Claressa Shields gives honest opinion on Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis performance

While at the launch press conference for her fight against Kaye Scott, Claressa Shields was asked about Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis vs Xander Zayas:

“I know everybody else’s commentary is the third round of the fight, where Zayas supposedly hurt “Boots,” and that’s what they like to keep going around and saying. But, for “Boots” to not have no belts, go over there and fight against the guy who say he’s gonna take his heart and he’s gonna do all this.

“He go over there, and he beat…I like Xander, I do, “Boots” beat the dog s**t out of him from the first bell. Dropped him. People get hit in fights; that happens. To me, that’s an A+ performance by “Boots.” Had “Boots” quit against Xander, they’d be calling “Boots” a quitter. Because Xander got stopped against “Boots,” they all like, ‘Oh, he got so much heart.’

“Be fair. Give “Boots” his due. Right now, at 154, he is the man, and a big challenge for him will be (Sebastian) Fundora. Fundora is a big challenge for anybody because of how long he is in his height. But “Boots” has enough in his arsenal to beat Fundora. But he’s got to be very smart. He can’t make the same mistake he made getting hit with that straight jab and that right against Zayas. He can’t do that with Fundora.”

Featured Image Credit:

Zachariah Delgado – Matchroom Boxing