Crawford took to the PorterWay Podcast with Shawn Porter to label Ennis’ June 27th victory overhyped. While the pound-for-pound luminary praised Ennis’ athletic gifts, he claimed the win looked better than it actually was because nobody expected the green Zayas to pull off the upset.

The real jab came when Crawford analyzed the mechanics of the fight. He pointed directly to the third round, where Zayas managed to wobble Ennis with a clean shot. Ennis recovered to floor Zayas twice and secure the finish, but Crawford insists those defensive lapses would be fatal against top-tier 154-pounders.

Crawford went as far as to state he is ten steps ahead in smarts compared to the young champion, implying he would have dismantled Ennis by exploiting those exact openings. He followed that up with a cryptic social media post telling fans he would keep his comments to himself, though the shade was obvious.

Ennis completely brushed off the criticism. When asked about Crawford’s claim of being ten steps ahead in ring IQ, telling Ariel Helwani, “I don’t care. None of that stuff bothers me. As of right now, he’s retired. What did he say? He said he’s enjoying his retirement, right?”

As for the fantasy matchup that fans keep dreaming about, Ennis is keeping his feet firmly planted in reality. He noted that Crawford is retired and openly enjoying his post-fight life. While acknowledging it would be a massive money fight, Ennis pointed out that there are plenty of other huge fights available at junior middleweight without chasing a retired fighter.

“You could say (there’s dough in that fight), but there’s other big fights out here for sure, too, though. I don’t consider him anything. I don’t even care. I don’t pay him, or none of these people, no mind,” said Ennis about Crawford.