He’s currently the talk of the sport, or certainly of the welterweight division, in which he holds two world titles and aims for more. Jaron “Boots” Ennis, for some, the best at 147 right now (this still to be proven in the opinion of others), and he was recently asked by the folks at Sports Illustrated to list his personal picks for the 10 greatest-ever welterweights.
Now, this is no easy chore. At all. One of the most special weight divisions in the sport’s history, the 147-pound division has boasted so many special fighters over the years, and if you go way back, you will see how greats like Barbados Joe Walcott, Mickey Walker, Charley Burley, and others sprinkled real greatness over the division.
However, perhaps being too guilty of being kind to more modern-day fighters, “Boots” provided the following list when asked for one by S.I.
Here it is (in reverse order):
10: Oscar De La Hoya
9: Felix Trinidad
8: Terence Crawford
7: Manny Pacquiao
6: Roberto Duran
5: Thomas Hearns
4: Pernell Whitaker
3: Sugar Ray Leonard
2: Sugar Ray Robinson
1: Floyd Mayweather Jr.
Okay. Sort of.
Most fans who read this list from Ennis will most likely have the same instant reaction as the one I had. Sugar Ray, the original and truly incomparable Sugar Ray, HAS to be ranked at the top of anyone’s greatest-ever welterweights list. Sugar Ray, after all, had over 200 fights, he was darn near unbeatable at 147, he had to wait for his title shot, this after having cleaned out the division, and the man born Walker Smith Jr went a crazy, unthinkable today, 43-0 as he ruled as welterweight king.
Yeah, that’s an entire boxer’s career these days, yet Sugar Ray compiled those numbers over a span of five years. Sadly, the footage of Robinson’s great 147 fights/performances is lacking, yet numbers don’t lie. And Robinson fought all comers at 147 (okay, admittedly, some say Ray ducked the great Charley Burley, a special fighter who makes no appearance on Boots’ list).
Ennis’s list is decent, but again, the 27-year-old from Philly does seem to have focused too much on the more modern fighters.
But, hey, what do YOU guys think of the list stamped out by Boots? And can Ennis go on and become a welterweight great himself?