Eddie Hearn says Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis will scratch his plans to unify the 147-lb division if the Terence Crawford fight is delivered next by His Excellency Turki Alalshikh.
Hearn’s Facetime with Alalshikh
The Matchroom promoter Eddie Hearn spoke with Alalshikh by Facetime moments after ‘Boots’ Ennis’ systematic fifth-round destruction of substitute challenger David Avanesyan (30-5-1, 18 KOs) last Saturday night at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Hearn says His Excellency is interested in making the Crawford vs. Boots Ennis fight next if the Canelo Alvarez clash doesn’t happen for Terence in the first quarter of 2025. That fight doesn’t seem likely, Hearn says, for two reasons:
- Crawford will lose to Israil Madrimov on August 3rd
- Superstar Canelo Alvarez isn’t interested in fighting Crawford. It’s a no-win type of fight for Alvarez, where he won’t receive any credit for beating the aging fighter.
Financial Incentive for Crawford
The money will be there for Crawford (40-0, 31 KOs) to fight Boots Ennis, but it’s one that he very likely will lose. Getting beaten by Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) would tarnish Crawford’s legacy, reinforcing the belief that he was always overrated by fans for wins over B-level fighters in the three divisions he won world titles.
In other words, Crawford is Adrien Broner 2.0, a fighter who captured world titles in multiple weight divisions but never fought any of the killers.
“His Excellency watched the fight, and he wanted to have a quick word with Boots. He said if there’s no Canelo fight, he wants to make Boots vs. Crawford. ‘Would we do it?’ The answer is, of course,” said promoter Eddie Hearn to iFL TV, talking about the Facetime discussion he had with His Excellency Turki Alalshikh last Saturday night following Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’s round stoppage win over David Avanesyan.
It’s a no-brainer for Boots Ennis to fight Crawford next because it’s a much bigger match for him than against any of the little-known champions in the welterweight division. With Crawford getting older and fighting only once a year, Boots may not get the chance to fight him until 2026 if it doesn’t happen in 2025.
Crawford wants the Canelo payday; if that fight happens, it will be in early 2025. After that match, Terence will likely sit inactive for 1+ years before emerging in 2026 for a potential fight with Boots or, more likely, a rematch with Canelo if His Excellency will give it to him.
“The plan is to unify at 147, but that fight [Crawford-Ennis] is one of the biggest fights in the sport, and it’s such a good fight. You see a guy like Jaron Ennis, who has been out for a year. He was really disappointed in his performance. I’m not being funny. He was playing with him, and to play with a fighter like Avanesyan shows his ability,” Hearn said about Boots.
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