Eddie Hearn believes the Terence Crawford vs. Jaron “Boots” Ennis fight is the best fight in boxing right now.
The British promoter signed Ennis earlier this year and the pair are set to fight for the first time on Saturday night.
Although “The Boots” missed out on the fight he really wanted, he will be defending his IBF welterweight world title against David Avanesyan.
Crawford defeated Errol Spence in his final bout last year to become the undisputed WBA, WBC, IBF and WBO welterweight world champion.
At the time, Ennis held the IBF “interim” belt, a must-have for any challenger to the champion.
However, Crawford showed no desire to face the talented and unbeaten American challenger and was eventually stripped of the belt.
As a result, Ennis was promoted and became the IBF champion by default.
Crawford has instead chosen to move up a weight class and is scheduled to challenge WBA super welterweight world champion Israil Madrimov of Uzbekistan on August 3.
Hearn is also backing Madrimov, telling reporters, “I think Madrimov has a very good chance of winning against Crawford, but Crawford is the clear favorite.”
But the promoter had this to say about the future: “Crawford vs. Boots is without a doubt the greatest fight in boxing.”
“But before he moves up to 154, I'd like to see a unification fight at 147…”
“Weight gain is inevitable.
“But at the same time, I want to do it when he’s achieved everything he can achieve at 147 pounds.
“Honestly, being around him and seeing his size, I was amazed he was 147 pounds.
“At the weigh-in on Friday, I weighed in at 146 pounds. [his father/trainer] Bosie Ennis said, “I think he can actually go up to 140 pounds.”
“His face did not look dry and he did not look haggard at all.
“And I believe he can eventually move up to 168 pounds. So I think we'll see a guy like Jaron Ennis move up to 154 and then over time move up to 160.”
“But I don't want him to move without making his weight class clear. He's won a world championship, but it would be a shame if he doesn't compete in the unification bout as a fighter worthy of his ability.”
