In this week’s mailbag, we tackle Mike Tyson’s chances of defeating Jake Paul; whether Jesse “Bam” Rodriguez is getting too much credit for his wins; two views on how Jaron “Boots” Ennis looked in his rematch with Karen Chukhadzhian; and if it’s too soon for Keyshawn Davis to take on Gervonta “Tank” Davis.
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IF MIKE TYSON IS TO DEFEAT JAKE PAUL, IT MUST HAPPEN EARLY
Mike Tyson will be at his best only during the first two rounds. Folks forgot what became of Tyson late in his career, way after his prison stint. Mike ran out of gas early, and then he’d go through the motions and would appear stoned/under heavy medication. The longer the fight goes, the more I favor Jake Paul.
-Lefty0616
Matt Christie’s response: Mike Tyson only has to be at his best for 30 seconds, never mind two rounds, and Jake Paul is getting knocked out. If he can somehow summon two rounds of his best, at the age of 58 years old, put the entire heavyweight division on notice.
The best we should logically be hoping for, however, is that Tyson doesn’t get hurt — and those who approved this as a professional boxing match, alongside those in the sport who’ve embraced it as such, aren’t made to look very silly indeed.
BAM RODRIGUEZ’S ACHIEVEMENTS ARE OVERRATED
Look at Bam’s last five opponents:
Carlos Cuadras was 34 and washed, coming off a loss and two years of inactivity [Note: Cuadras was 33 and had been inactive for about 14 months].
Srisaket Sor Rungvisai was 35 and washed, coming from 16 months of inactivity.
Sunny Edwards is a pillow-fisted loudmouth.
Juan Francisco Estrada was 34 and coming from two years of inactivity [Note: Estrada had been off for 19 months].
Pedro Guevara was 35 and a 108-pounder.
And Roman “Chocolatito” Gonzalez is about to turn 38 [in June 2025].
So it’s easy for Bam to out-maneuver and out-power them. I would love if Bam fights a young guy like Junto Nakatani.
-BoxWhere
Tris Dixon’s response: I’m all for critical thinking and perhaps playing devil’s advocate a little, but my read on Bam is different to yours. And whether I’m giving in to the hype or not remains to be seen, but I’m slurping the Kool-Aid for now.
I see what you’re saying, but with Rodriguez my glass is very much half-full. I see a guy forcing his way up the pound-for-pound ranks, staying comparatively busy and improving at a young age.
There are younger guns for him to fight, sure, and I am far from desperate to see him meet Roman Gonzalez. Perhaps he will get to Fernando Martinez and Kazuto Ioka in time, and should he move up, the bantamweight division is one of the hottest in the sport. I know Bam recently visited Japan — where all of the belts at 118 pounds reside — but I’m not sure how keen Matchroom would be to have him fight over there. Maybe.
I also think you’re being unduly harsh on Bam’s recent foes. Okay, Cuadras might not have been what he once was. Srisaket, in recent years, had only lost to Estrada — and Bam stopped Sor Rungvisai. Yes, Edwards has a loud mouth, but he can fight and was an undefeated champion who had outclassed good fighters — and he was whipped and broken up. And Estrada could still go, and yet Bam’s victory was decisive. Guevara hadn’t been stopped before, and Bam blew him away.
It is not just who Bam has beaten, but how he has beaten them. He’s winning well each time, impressing each time. I do agree with you: Bam versus Nakatani is one of the best fights that can be made in the sport today. Wow.
TOO SOON FOR KEYSHAWN DAVIS VS. GERVONTA DAVIS
I like Keyshawn’s confidence in his skills (“Davis versus Davis: Keyshawn targets Gervonta”), but he might be a little too green for Tank just yet. Maybe by the end of 2025 it could be possible.
-A.B. Counterhooks
David Greisman’s response: Keyshawn Davis is in a position not at all unique in boxing but frustrating nevertheless: He’s potentially in line for a title shot without having ever defeated another Top 10 opponent.
Davis (12-0, 8 KOs) has now notched wins over Jose Pedraza, Miguel Madueno and Gustavo Lemos in his last three appearances. Lemos had at least given Richardson Hitchins a tough fight earlier this year in an elimination bout up at junior welterweight; some feel Lemos actually deserved the win.
The WBO’s president said the other week that the winner of Davis vs. Lemos could become the mandatory challenger for titleholder Denys Berinchyk.
I’d still love to see Davis against another lightweight contender. Beyond the four titleholders (Berinchyk, Gervonta “Tank” Davis, Vasiliy Lomachenko and Shakur Stevenson), The Ring’s Top 10 includes William Zepeda, Raymond Muratalla, Frank Martin, Andy Cruz and Sam Noakes. The Transnational Boxing Ratings Board has most of those names, as well as Zaur Abdullaev and George Kambosos Jr.
I’d prefer to see Keyshawn get more seasoning before stepping in with Tank. But I don’t see him taking on any of those other contenders right now, not when he can head straight to a title shot. Of the four titleholders, a fight with Berinchyk makes the most sense. He’s not a gimme for Keyshawn, but he’s probably the best matchup for him right now in terms of style and difficulty level.
The question then becomes whether Top Rank would be willing to put Keyshawn in with Gervonta or would instead do what most promoters would do — try to hold on to that world title for as long as possible while taking advantage of Davis’ popularity in his hometown of Norfolk, Virginia.
A CAUTIONARY TALE FOR JARON “BOOTS” ENNIS
Jaron “Boots” Ennis looked under par against Karen Chukhadzhian, but I think he’s still the business and will up his level when needed. But he can’t go in there with the likes of Vergil Ortiz hanging his chin out.
-thack
Lucas Ketelle’s response: Sure, Ennis looked uninterested on Saturday, but so was I, and that’s often how the trajectory goes for a great fighter. The script is familiar: a hotshot prospect dominates, then hits a rough patch that gets the critics chirping.
For Ennis, that bump came in his rematch with Karen Chukhadzhian — a fighter he’d already handled with ease. But this time, Ennis seemed as checked out as half the crowd, coasting through rounds with a look of indifference plastered on his face and falling into his shots at times.
Now we’re at that classic phase two of the star-making process. Cue the doubters. The casuals are already asking, “Is Boots really that good?”
Here’s the spoiler: He absolutely is.
Ennis is finding out that being a star isn’t just about selling out arenas in your hometown, bringing rappers to the ring, and working the crowd. Sometimes, it’s about grinding through an off night when a supposed showcase sours. Worst case? It turns into living a nightmare, as Chris Algieri once put it when Teofimo Lopez lost to George Kambosos Jnr.
So the real takeaway isn’t the flat performance. It’s the lesson. If Ennis came away empty-handed in terms of self-reflection, sure, there might be cause for concern. But if he found a reason to improve, then we’ve still got a fighter well on his way to stardom.
ENNIS DESERVES MORE CREDIT THAN HE’S GETTING
What is always so puzzling is what happens after Boots fights. He smoked this Karen dude 12-0 in the first fight because Chukhadzhian was scared to engage and ran like a chicken all night. Then in the second fight Chukhadzhian opted to bring one of his balls in the ring and fought bravely until he got put on his ass. Then he threw his one ball over the top rope and grabbed his bike again.
Why are we all talking like Boots lost both fights? Why isn’t the conversation about how Boots won 20 rounds to 4 in two fights?
-DClefthook
Owen Lewis’ response: Boots was in a no-win position in this fight. Given the lack of enthusiasm from the viewing public ahead of this rematch, I can only imagine how much Boots himself struggled with motivation.
I generally agree with you: Because Chukhadzhian was so thoroughly outclassed in their first fight, people graded him on a curve for the rematch. Boots, meanwhile, could only improve by getting a stoppage, and instead he had to go the distance again. I thought the DAZN commentators on my stream totally fell for this fallacy, telling the story of the fight as if Boots was losing even as he won most of the rounds.
I think the main problem here is the enormous expectations boxing has for Boots. He is almost universally regarded as a supreme talent, and it’s well-known that he hasn’t yet been matched with the most elite opponents. So he’s expected to look great against everybody, when in reality, performance level just isn’t perfectly linear.
Another issue is that in the social media age, everyone has to form dramatic conclusions about every damn singular event. It’s not enough to say “not an amazing Boots performance, but he still won almost every round. Gotta tighten up that defense.” In some fans’ eyes, this fight must contain evidence of how he’d perform against Terence Crawford, or Vergil Ortiz Jnr, or Bakhram Murtazaliev.
Boots might have underwhelmed, and he definitely got hit a little too much, but as you point out, he won a wide unanimous decision. Save the dramatics for if and when Boots gets knocked down or out.
The best thing to do is tune out all the reactionary stuff and trust what your own eyes are telling you. Mine, like I suspect yours do, see a guy who is 33-0 with 29 knockouts who is beyond ready and deserving of a fight with an opponent who might actually beat him.
Want to be featured in the mailbag? Comment or ask a question in the comments section below. Submissions may be edited for length and clarity. We also may select readers’ comments from other BoxingScene stories.