Unified welterweight titleholder Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis talks a bit more about why he ultimately passed on a proposed fight against Teofimo Lopez in order to move up a weight class. Boots also talks about how he believes he receives excessive criticism for his performances relative to other top level fighters. Check out some excerpts below.

On how close he was to taking Teofimo Lopez fight

“I was close but at the end of the day it’s about my health and how I’m going to feel. So I feel like the best option for me was ‘54.”

On whether he was concerned about any fan backlash he would receive from turning it down

“They already said that Stanionis was little, everybody I fight is just so-called little so you got to take everything in consideration but my main thing was just the health. I want to be on point and like I said before, I want to make sure I give crazy performances. I want to go crazy every time out, I want to feel great every time out, not second-guessing myself like ‘am I going to feel good on fight night or am I going to feel good once I get into the ring?’ I don’t want to have that so ‘54 is where we steppin’ at.”

On having such high expectations and facing constant criticism

“It don’t matter what I do. I could beat somebody 12-0, I can knock somebody out in the first round, they always got something to say. Then they talk about I get hit. What?

“I get hit less than all they favorite fighters, which is crazy. And I come out the ring with no cuts, no bumps, no scrapes. You ain’t never seen my eye closed, no cuts, no none of that stuff. Their favorite fighters take a lot of punishment, like bad.”