IBF welterweight champion Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis’ scheduled opponent for July 13th, Cody Crowdy, failed his pre-fight eye exam and has now withdrawn from their headliner at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia.
Promoter Eddie Hearn Faces Difficult Decision
It’s obviously a big disappointment for the 26-year-old Boots Ennis, as he’s been out of the ring for eleven months since July 2023 and now has no opponent for his July 13th fight.
If Boots’ replacement fight takes four to six months, he will have been out of the ring for a year and a half at age 26. You don’t like to see that, especially with a young talent like Ennis.
Ennis signed with Hearn, believing he would keep him busy, fighting three times a year, but that doesn’t look like that will happen, at least this year.
Boots Ennis’ promoter, Eddie Hearn, must decide whether to find a quick replacement or move him to a different date. On social media, fans have suggested that Vergil Ortiz be the replacement, but he can’t make 147.
The last thing Boots Ennis needs is Vergil Jr. ending up in the hospital due to being weight-drained and stuck with another pull-out.
Hearn promoted the highly ranked welterweight contender Conor Benn, but he likely wouldn’t want him to face Boots with only one month’s training, get chewed up, and have his value, such as it is, to the UK market ruined.
ESPN reports the news of IBF mandatory Crowley (22-0, 9 KOs) being forced to pull out of the fight after failing his pre-fight eye exam.
Crowley’s Eye Surgery Raises Questions
He recently had eye surgery, which should have been a red flag for the promoters of the July 13th event not to use him. They should have noted that the 31-year-old Crowley was coming off eye surgery and chose to use someone else.
With Crowley out, fans will be pushing for Terence Crawford to return to the welterweight division to fight Boots Ennis to try and recapture his stripped IBF title. He’s not going to do that, though.
Crawford fights on August 3rd against WBA junior middleweight champion Israil Madrimov. He’s not expected to return to the 147-lb division, especially not against a talent like Boots Ennis.
The soon-to-be 37-year-old Crawford isn’t going to take a risky fight against Boots, who many feel is a better version of the aging Nebraska native, who is just playing out his string before retiring.
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