Sergey Lipinets knows what he’ll be up against Saturday on Showtime.
Jaron Ennis, the Russian’s opponent in a scheduled 12-round welterweight bout, is one of the most gifted all-around boxers in the world. To defeat him would be a significant achievement and career booster.
Lipinets showed Ennis nothing but respect during a conference call Thursday.
He was asked whether his edge in experience could be a deciding factor in the fight. His response? Ennis has more professional fights than he has. If anything, he has fought better opposition.
Ennis, a powerful puncher, has never been past six rounds. Lipinets was asked whether his strategy would be to take his opponent into the later rounds. He answered by saying he expects Ennis to be ready to go 24 rounds.
Lipinets said through a translator that the lesson learned in his draw with Custio Clayton in October was “just don’t depend on judges.” Does that mean he expects to take out Ennis? His response: Of course every fighter wants to knock out his opponent.
Get the picture? No bravado, no bold predictions. Lipinets is simply a professional who has a job to do. That was tone of his interview.
“All we’re going to do is work consistently, keep throwing punches, keep coming forward, pushing ourselves to the edge, trying to push Jaron to the same edge,” Lipinets said through manager Alex Vaysfeld.
“Whatever it takes us to be the winner. We’ll see whose hand is raised up.”
Lipinets (16-1-1, 12 KOs) has had his hand raised in all but two of his fights, a one-sided decision against Mikey Garcia that cost him his 140-pound title in 2018 and a draw with Custio Clayton this past October.
The clear loss to Garcia – which some believe underscored Lipinets’ limitations — might be one reason he’s around a 9-1 underdog even though he has more experience than Ennis big fights.
That doesn’t matter to Lipinets, who said he’s focused on preparing properly for an important fight and not on the perception of outsiders. It goes back to being a professional: He’s ready to do his best in a fight that could lead to a shot at a welterweight title.
Vaysfeld feels the same way.
“I know how they look at him, I know what they think,” he said, referring to those who don’t give Lipinets much of a chance on Saturday. “I’ve told people before: Sometimes you look at a stepping stone … and you might trip over it. I wouldn’t count anybody out.
“Look what happened with Andy Ruiz and Anthony Joshua. … I’ve known Sergey from the get go. I know how he is. He’s not concerned at all?”
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