Norman Sr. then went further, calling Ennis “a great gym fighter” while questioning the stories that have followed him for years from sparring sessions in Philadelphia.
“He’s a great gym fighter to me,” said Norman Sr. “That whole aura when you in your hometown. Everybody in the gym stop watching like it’s amazing. But guess what? Ain’t nobody getting hurt. Ain’t nobody going to sleep.”
Norman Sr. argued that Ennis has not faced the level of competition that would justify the constant comparisons to Crawford. He pointed to Crawford taking difficult fights against unbeaten opponents earlier in his career while saying Ennis was handed a different path.
“No, because they really did offer the man to fight,” said Norman Sr. about a possible Crawford-Ennis bout. “He clearly said that we loyal to Espinosa. You talking about a guy who still to this day ain’t fought nobody like that.”
Norman Sr. did give Ennis credit for his dominant win over Eimantas Stanionis, but even that praise came with criticism attached.
“Stanionis was his biggest test, and he passed with flying colors,” said Norman Sr. “But you talking about a guy that had never been tested.”
For Norman Sr., that is the real issue with the hype surrounding Ennis. He believes fans and media have crowned him before he has faced enough elite-level opponents to prove he belongs in the same conversation as Crawford.
“We haven’t had a chance to even see him show out in front of anybody because he hasn’t been in the ring with anybody of his level,” said Norman Sr.
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