Terence Crawford has finally vacated his WBO welterweight title, leaving it for Brian Norman Jr. to be elevated by the sanctioning body.
Predictable Move After 154-b Title Victory
It was a predictable move by Crawford (41-0, 31 KOs) after he captured the WBA Junior middleweight title with a narrow victory over champion Israil Madrimov on August 3rd.
Crawford still holds the WBA welterweight title, but he’ll vacate that belt soon. If not, he’ll be stripped eventually. The current WBA ‘regular’ 147-lb champion, Eimantas Stanionis, would then be elevated.
The World Boxing Organization should have stripped Crawford the moment he moved up to 154 and captured the WBA title from Madrimov on August 3rd. Once Crawford made that move, it should have resulted in him losing his WBO 147-lb title on the spot instead of voluntarily vacating the belt.
It’s now believed that Crawford will use his newly won WBA 154-lb title to fight WBC interim champion Vergil Ortiz Jr. or WBC/WBO champ Sebastian Fundora next. Crawford is still holding Canelo Alvarez will grant him his wish for a fight at 168, but it doesn’t look like that fight will happen.
Boots Ennis: The Unwanted Shark in Crawford’s Ocean
It’s unclear why Crawford has chosen to vacate his WBO welterweight title rather than continue to hold onto it for validation purposes.
Could it be that Crawford is worried that if he holds onto it, Jaron ‘Boots’ Ennis will give up on his goal of becoming undisputed 147-lb champion and move up to 154 to put heat on him or take some of the prized chickens he’s looking to cook in the pan, like Vergil Ortiz Jr?
It wouldn’t be good for Crawford for Boots to move up to 154 and snatch Vergil out from under his nose before he’s gotten the chance to expose him as a hype job. It also wouldn’t be good for Crawford to deal with the fan pressure of having Boots Ennis (32-0, 29 KOs) fighting in the same weight class and be hounded night and day to fight him.
Having Boots around would be pure misery for Crawford because if 154 is his portion of the ocean, the last thing he needs is a predatory shark like Ennis devouring his prey fish before he gets the chance to have a meal.
While the 154-lb division is well-stocked with fish for Crawford, the food supply isn’t endless. Having Boots around reduces the supply for Crawford, leaving him a few insignificant Green Sea Carp to feed on.
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