David Avanesyan, like many other fighters, is patiently waiting for a fight date while trying to avoid overtraining.

After turning 37 last month, the former long-reigning European welterweight champion has suffered stoppage defeats in two of his last four outings — both world title contests — against Terence Crawford and Jaron Ennis.

While both undefeated titleholders have since departed the 147-pound division for challenges elsewhere, the Nottingham resident wonders who, if anyone, can claim to be the standout champion left in his weight class.

"Crawford gone, Ennis is gone too, Shawn Porter retired ... who can you say," he said when assessing the starpower-less welterweight scene in conversation with The Ring. Brian Norman-Devin Haney feels like an outlier in that November 22's victor will have the best chance to unify a thinning class of elite contenders and other beltholders.

Avanesyan has been a professional for 15 years and counting but continues to hone his craft.

He spent time Saudi Arabia at the beginning of the year and in Belfast recently, helping Paddy Donovan prepare for his two-fight series with Lewis Crocker. His new friend fell short in different circumstances, but head coach Andy Lee lifted the lid on their sparring wars in an interview with The Ring before the rematch.

When that's put to him, he laughs.

"Then, after helping Paddy in Saudi," the Russian says, "Ennis' manager called Neil Marsh and said, 'I need David's help... He was the only one to let his right hand go and made him miss sometimes [during their July 2024 title fight].'"

Avanesyan continued, saying he spent around a month with Ennis preparing before his IBF/WBA unification fight against Eimantas Stanionis. It proved his final fight at a weight he's been making since turning pro in 2016.

Squeezing his muscular 5-foot-10 frame down to the 147-pound limit was proving increasingly dangerous for his health and potentially impact on performances.

Judging by the carefully curated footage Matchroom have released after joining Canelo Alvarez's camp last month, Ennis won't be finishing his career at junior middleweight, either.

Avanesyan added: "He's a good boxer but great at everything — can punch, is fast and always moving. I went for sparring before the Stanionis fight and it's good to spar guys like that. He's big. He had super middleweight sparring partners, they weighed 90kg [198lbs] and I was at 75kg [165lbs], it felt like Ennis was maybe 85kg [187lbs] when we sparred.

"He's really big. When I see him sparring, oof, you feel his punches and can tell they're heavy. I don't know how it's possible for him to lose that much weight."

Ennis returns to Philadelphia for his junior middleweight debut against Angola's Uisma Lima (14-1, 10 KOs) next weekend, headlining a Matchroom bill streamed live on DAZN worldwide.

Lima, four years his senior, will fancy his chances of upsetting the odds in a WBA title eliminator against a former unified champion getting his feet wet in a new division.