Philadelphia might be known as the City of Brotherly Love, but it’s also a fighting town. Some of the best fighters in the history of boxing were born and raised there, including Bernard Hopkins and Danny Garcia.
Nowadays, Jaron Ennis is carrying the Philadelphia mantle. But while the slick-hitting IBF welterweight champ has built a reputation of destroying his competition, Blair Cobbs believes that he actually inflicts more worry around his home state.
“I’m very, very much feared in Philadelphia,” claimed Cobbs to FightHype.com. “I’m very unpredictable. My movements are incredibly fast and unpredictable. A counterpuncher will not be able to counterpunch me for very long.”
Ennis (31-0, 28 KOs) normally doesn’t find his name in the headlines. Fighters aren’t buoyant when approached with the opportunity to fight him, even with a world title now wrapped around his waist.
Following just two fights in 2023, Ennis is hoping that 2024 will be more kind in the activity department. Cobbs, similarly, could use a bit more activity as well. Actually, a lot of it.
In both 2020 and 2021, Cobbs (16-1-1, 10 KOs) appeared just once annually. His time in the ring did see an uptick in 2022 after two showings but that was the last time anyone has seen of him in the ring. Even now, Cobbs doesn’t know when fans can expect to see him next. But, that hasn’t stopped him from calling out Ennis and the rest of the elite in the welterweight division.
Outside of Terence Crawford, Ennis is widely viewed as the best 147-pounder on the planet and a future pound-for-pound star. Cobbs though, doesn’t understand where all the hype is coming from. If he were given the chance to square off against Ennis, most might be under the assumption that Ennis would have the edge in several physical categories.
From Cobbs’ point of view, however, not only is that flat-out wrong but once he lands something significant on the chin of his man, Ennis won’t be able to recover.
“He ain’t never seen nobody like me. I’m faster and stronger than him,” continued Cobb. “I guarantee you he’s going on the canvas and it might be early with the ego that he has.”