Crawford Picks Between Ennis And Zayas

Crawford Reacts

“Man, that is a tough fight, especially for Xander at this point in his career, but it shows his heart and his confidence that he has in himself. He is ready to go make history for his country and he is going to do real well in that fight. I just think that, right now, it is a little bit too early for him,” Crawford said 

The Reality

A major argument against Ennis is that he has spent his entire career as a massive welterweight (147 lbs) bullying smaller men. Zayas recently pointed this out during their April 8th press conference, noting that at 154 lbs, Ennis is finally facing men his own size.

“Because he has, I mean, everybody at 147 was always smaller than them. He was a big cop. 54 is different. You got these guys coming from 190 from 181, 85, 200. It’s different,” Zayas said

Zayas has also fought and won two world title fights in a six-month span (July 2025 and January 2026). He is “fight-sharp” and entering his physical prime. Ennis has only had one fight in the last year. In boxing, timing is everything, and Crawford—who often takes long breaks himself—might be discounting how much Zayas’ recent momentum will help him in the later rounds when “Boots” might start to fade.